D 570 
.351 
314th 
.B4 
Copy 1 




THE THREE HUNDRED 
AND FOURTEENTH 
MOTOR SUPPLY TRAIN 
IN THE WORLD WAR 



THE 

THREE HUNDRED AND FOURTEENTH 

MOTOR SUPPLY TRAIN 

IN THE WORLD WAR 



An Account of the operations of the Supply Train 

of the 89th Division from its organization 

until its demobilization, including 

maps and complete rosters 

and appendices. 



MILTON e7 BERNET, 



1st Lieutenant, Adjutant 314th Motor Supply Train, 



29, April, 1919. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS; 

PART I— THE PREPARATION. 

CHAPTER I— FIRST DAYS AT FUNSTON. 
CHAPTER II— TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION. 
CHAPTER III— FINAL DAYS OF TRAINING AT FUN- 
STON. 
CHAPTER IV— CAMP MILLS, L. I., N. Y. 
CHAPTER V— ON THE "LAPLAND." 

PART II— IN THE FIRST AMERICAN ARMY. 

CHAPTER VI— THE BATTLE OF REST CAMPS. 
CHAPTER VII— INTO THE LINE. 
CHAPTER VIII— PREPARATION FOR THE PUSH. 
CHAPTER IX— THE ST. MIHIEL DRIVE. 
CHAPTER X— TO THE ARGONNE-MEUSE. 
CHAPTER XI— THE ARGONNE-MEUSE OFFENSIVE. 

PART III— IN THE ARMY OF OCCUPATION. 
CHAPTER XII— AFTER THE ARMISTICE. 
CHAPTER XIII— TOWARD THE LAND OF THE BOCHE. 
CHAPTER XIV— RHINELAND. 

PART IV— AND THEN AT LAST. 
CHAPTER XV— HOME AGAIN. 

APPENDIX A— ROSTERS OF COMPANIES AND DETACH- 
MENTS, AND CASUALTY LISTS. 

APPENDIX B— CITATIONS AND MISCELLANEOUS. 



MAPS. 

ST. MIHIEL SECTOR— 

(a) SECTOR BELOW FLIREY. 

(b) SECTOR BEYOND FLIREY. 

ARGONNE-MEUSE SECTOR— 

(a) SECTOR BELOW BANTHEVILLE. 

(b) SECTOR BEYOND BANTHEVILLE. 

GERMANY— 

(a) SECTOR ABOUT BITBURG. 



PART I. 
THE PREPARATION. 



CHAPTER 1. 

FIRST DAYS AT FUNSTON. 

A history which is spread over the expanse of fifteen months, 
whose scenes are laid along the long and toilsome road from the 
dusty plains of Funston and the Pawnee Flats in the center of 
the United States to the heart of a conquered Rhmeland is of 
necessity an ambitious undertaking. When that history is of 
an organization with a record such as that of the 314th Motor 
Supply Ti-ain and a part of a Division with the record of the 
89th the Middlewest Division, whose members came to be 
known as the FIGHTING FARMERS, then its telling becomes 
even more difficult. But throughout the whole of that history 
the keynote is achievement. 

The 314th Motor Supply Train really came into being on 
October 3, 1917, at Camp Funston, Kansas, when the first two 
hundred men of the new NATIONAL ARMY were assigned to 
it. It had been a time of uncertainty for these men, just drafted 
for the most part from their homes in Nebraska. Some few 
came from Missouri and Kansas, but they were all of the sturdy 
stock of the Middlewest. 

Thousands were already streaming into Funston at this time 
over the Union Pacific Railroad to become a part of the Divi- 
sion which Major-General Leonard Wood had been selected by 
the War Department to organize. As these huge special trains 
rolled into the station at Funston with coaches which bore 
the name of the county from which the occupants came and 
such legends as "From Osage County to Berlin," or "Can the 
Kaiser," the men were hurriedly run through a receiving sta- 
tion, separated by counties, and assigned to the various in- 
fantry and artillery regiments, the engineer regiment, the field 
signal and machine gun battalions, and the trains. 

None of the uninitiated ever knew exactly how this de- 
marcation by counties was determined. — who should go to the 
infantry, who to the artillery, who to the Supply Train, or any 
other of the Divisional organizations. 

At any rate on the night of October 3, 1917, about 11:00 
P. M. a Union Pacific special train came into the station, bear- 
ing the first contingent assigned to the Supply Train. With 
the farewells from home hardly off their lips they had found 
themselves passing one by one in quick succession through the 
classification and assignment station, the grist mill which would 
transform them from casual draftees to charter members of 
the great National Army. 

11 



The reception of these men was well organized although 
military equipment at this time was very scarce. 

Major Frank Wilbur Smith, later G-2 of the 89th Division, 
had been designated to command the Supply Train temporarily, 
and as his assistants were attached seven second lieutenants, 
Charles K. Gibbs as Adjutant and Supply Officer, J. E. Corby, 
Company "A"; Porter Marquis, Company "B"; Wm. H. Barnett, 
Company "C"; Chas. W. Kessler, Company 'D"; C. H. Enos, 
Company "E" and Scarritt Jones, Company "F." As Sergeant- 
Major, Major Smith had selected William E. O'Donnell whom he 
had brought from the 164th Depot Brigade. 

That first group of men, like every succeeding group as- 
signed to the Supply Train, was full of enthusiasm for the new 
life, and eager to become proficient in the art of war, that the 
purpose of their coming, — the achievement of Democracy for the 
world might be completed as soon as possible, and they be al- 
lowed to return to their homes. 

Every man stepped from the train with a smile, although 
there must have been many a tear hidden beneath those smiles, 
for many of them were leaving home for the first time, and each 
one was leaving for his biggest adventure, some for the Great 
Adventure. 

That first night was probably the first time many of those 
men had ever been forced to do anything absolutely distasteful 
to them, and that first ice-cold bath with the discarding of the 
last physical home-ties, the civilian clothes, was certainly dis- 
tasteful. 

After coming through the receiving station they had been 
formed in column of squads and marched over to the ninth unit 
by some of the newly assigned officers. 

All the men were lined up after arrival at the barracks and 
sent one at a time through the ordeal of the shower bath, hav- 
ing left their civilian clothing outside. After each man had re- 
stored his warmth and disposition by a careful drying after the 
shower, he was given one suit of underwear, one olive drab 
shirt, a pair of socks and a suit of blue denim clothing (no olive 
drab clothing nor russet shoes being available then). 

Then each man was given one comforter, one blanket and 
an empty bed sack, and told to go to bed. As there were no 
beds, then, the men spread themselves out as comfortably as 
possible on the barracks floors and as it had been a tiresome 
day most of them postponed their thoughts of the army in sleep, 
until reveille awakened them the next morning to a new military 
day. 

Civilian cooks had done their best with a breakfast of 
bacon, bread and coffee, and the men all ate ravenously. Half 
an hour later they were lined up for the first time in front of 
their respective barracks in some sort of military fashion — all 
somewhat frightened and wondering if they would make good 
in this entirely different life. Then all were allowed to take 
their civilian clothes to the Depot and express them home. 

Few of the men knew at this time just what was the work of 
a Supply Train. Some thought it was a sort of Depot Regi- 
ment for the replacement of trained infantry soldiers; but 
speculation was rife on the subject and many opinions were 
hazarded as to just what a Supply Train in a combat division 
would do. It was probably two weeks before the purpose of the 

12 



organization was generally understood throughout the train. 
In that two weeks some progress had been made among them 
as infantry soldiers. They were no longer rookies, and beneath 
the somewhat crude outward appearance of the blue denim 
clothing, could be discovered a development of a more soldierly 
bearing, a trimmer and more military appearance all of which 
reflected a growing realization of the purpose for which their 
country had selected them. 

With the addition of 200 men on the 4th of October and 200 
more on the 6th, the train had become over-normal in size, but 
at once the work of developing the six companies into military 
units had begun. 

On October 18th, Major Smith had been relieved as Com- 
manding Officer of the Supply Train, Lieutenant-Colonel G. M. 
Grimes, just returned from the Philippines, taking his place. 
Then came a time of more intensified military training, the 
companies becoming orgafiizations which stood on their own 
foundations. The civilian cooks had been replaced late in 
October by men from the companies who had had varying degrees 
of experience in that line, but who had quickly become more 
proficient through the instruction they received at the Cooks' 
and Bakers' Schools at Funston. 

As the Companies were quartered — two companies to a 
barracks, A and B in Building 926, C and D in 928 and E and F 
in 537, the messes were operated together, the mess 
sergeant of one company assuming charge of the mess 
one month, the other company's mess sergeant the succeeding 
month. The ordeals of the vaccinations and injections came 
during these days of intensive infantry drill and sometimes 
were the excuse for a day's respite from them. In addition came 
in quick succession sieges of measles, mumps and spinal 
meningitis which meant quarantine from the outside world — 
but not quarantine from drill; the quarantine meant only an 
opportunity for more intensified drill. 

During the first month and a half there had also been a 
systematic weeding out of the physically unfit and of the men 
whom the War Department considered were needed more at 
home than in the service. In addition there had been transfers 
to and from the Depot Brigade which brought the strength of 
the Train down to about 500 men, more nearly its authorized 
strength. This made possible more intensive training, and by 
the middle of November brought the organization to a point 
where it was ripe for the practical motor instruction which was 
to occupy the greater part of its remaining time in the States. 



13 



CHAPTER II. 
TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION. 

On November 17, 1917, Captain Walter C. Cole of Detroit, 
Michigan, was transferred from the Provisional Motor Truck 
Battalion located at Camp Punston to the Supply Train. It is 
one of the most important dates in the history of the train. He 
brought with him the organizing ability which had made him 
so valuable in a development of a greater Detroit when he was 
Secretary of the Commercial Club in that city; and also the co- 
ordinating and administrative ability which had enabled him 
to efficiently direct all the motor transportation of Camp Puns- 
ton during the trying times of the completion of that great city 
of wooden barracks. A great motor corporation recently pointed 
out the successful administration of Motor Transportation at 
Camp Punston during its construction as an example of ef- 
ficiency. 

Prom practical experience in railroad work he had well 
laid in his mind the fundamental principles of transportation. 
On his acceptance of a captaincy in the Army he had been as- 
signed to command Motor Truck Company 59, and in his work 
with this company and later in command of the Provisional 
Motor Truck Battalion which included four other companies, 
he had assiduously studied the rapidly developing subject of 
Military Motor Transportation. As commanding officer of the 
huge fleet of trucks which had operated in Punston, building 
its own roads over the soft, muddy fields, he had met and solved 
problems of transportation which later made seem much less 
difficult similar problems over the roads of Prance when the 
lives of thousands of men were at stake. 

However, when Captain Cole reported to Lieutenant-Colonel 
Grimes on that November day he found a huge problem await- 
ing him — ^the development of 500 men, skilled in infantry drill, 
it is true, but with little, or no mechanical experience, into a 
smoothly operating Motor Supplj^ Train, with truckmasters, 
mechanics, chauffeurs and the other necessary personnel of 
companies which would be able to take the field and operate 
efficiently and independently. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Grimes realizing that it was only a ques- 
tion of time before he would be relieved from command of the 
Supply Train and assigned to command an Infantry Regiment 
turned this work of instruction and development completely 
over to Captain Cole and immediately appointed him as his 
adjutant. 

15 



Captain Cole at once arranged to secure the transfer of two 
men from Motor Truck Company 59, Harry M. Wait his first 
sergeant, and Frank L. Pinckney his chief mechanic, both well 
fitted to assist him in his task of both the practical and 
theoretical instruction of the train. Sergeant Wait had gained 
much valuable experience in charge of a civilian truck company 
in Mexico, while Sergeant PinCkney was a mechanical engineer, 
being a graduate of both Illinois and Wisconsin Universities. 

The actual transfer of Sergeants Wait and Pinckney did 
not come from the War Department until December 18th, 1917, 
but early in December they had come over to the Train on 
detached service, and under the direction of Captain Cole had 
begun the classification of the entire train, by the simple 
medium of an oral examination of every man, in which each was 
rated as to the possibility of his development. 

In the meantime there had come a great change in the 
personnel of the officers of the train. Lieutenant Milton E. 
Bernet, who had acted as Adjutant and Supply Officer in the 
Provisional Motor Truck Battalion with Captain Cole, was 
transferred to the train on December 11, 1917, being at once 
appointed Supply Officer to relieve L'eut. Gibbs. With the excep- 
tion of Lieutenant-Colonel Grimes and Captain Cole, on De- 
cember G, 1917, all officers in the train had received orders re- 
lieving them from the train and directing them to report to 
the port of embarkation for Overseas Service. In place of these 
officers, on December 15, 1917, eight officers from the Second 
Training Camp at Fort Benjamin Harrison were attached to 
the train for duty. Captain Burton F. Dickey, was placed in 
command of Company "A"; Lieut. Thos. S. Mulheron, Company 
"B"; Lieut. Caleb W. Orr, Company "C"; Lieut. Wm. E. Silver, 
Company "D"; Lieut. Bernard S. Kavenaugh, Company "E"; 
and Lieut. Robert C, Ledford, Company "F." Lieut. George E. 
McKinney was made Athletic Officer and Assistant Supply Of- 
ficer and Lieut. Erie M. McGuffey, Allotment and Insurance Of- 
ficer. 

By December 18th, 1917, when Sergeants Wait and Pinckney 
were actually transferred to the train the plans for instruction 
formulated by Captain Cole had begun to assume a definite 
shape. The hasty examination of the train had revealed about 
25 men of sufficient mechanical experience to assist in the in- 
struction of the others. Some few of the others had the ordinary 
mechanical knowledge which the average driver of a touring car 
has. But with the exception of the touring car assigned to 
Lieut.-Colonel Grimes there was not a piece of motor transpor- 
tation in the Train. To remedy this defect— Captain Cole bor- 
rowed three White Company trucks from Motor Truck Com- 
pany 59 (trucks which had already seen thousands of miles of 
service on the Mexican Border), and used these for practical in- 
struction. 

Ten days later all of 59 Company's trucks were operated 
by Supply Train personnel, and the number of well-instructed 
chauffeurs and mechanics in the train was increasing by leaps 
and bounds. 

The system adopted at first was to have classes of about 
30 men at a time, each class receiving two weeks' instruction. 
The practical work, the actual driving, minor repairs, running 
in convoy and kindred subjects were explained by the actual 

16 



work done in the day time; and tlie theoretical instruction was 
given at night and interestingly supplemented with blackboard 
talks by Sergeant Pinckney. Captain Cole had procured a con- 
demned motor for the evening instruction, and from this 
Sergeants Wait and Pinckney had made a skeleton motor to dem- 
onstrate its operation. Other subjects which were given care- 
ful study at night and which were practically demonstrated 
to the members of the class in the day time were the functions 
of the transmission and differential, the importance of lubrica- 
tion, and incidentally were taken up the duties of every man 
in the company, from truckmaster to company clerk and 
chauffeur. 

After completion of the school by each class, a 40 question 
examination on the practical work which had been gone over 
was held, and each man was given a grade. 

While in class the men were kept on 59 Company's trucks, 
and after graduation they were sent on Special Duty to operate 
the trucks of Motor Truck Company 347 which had recently been 
organized and was short of drivers. In this company each man 
got a variety of valuable experience; for its transportation was 
composed of Studebakers, Fords, Whites and Garfords. 

The grade made by each man on his examination was one of 
the factors taken into consideration when the non-commissioned 
officers were given their warrants in March, 1918. 

During this time six men had also been driving touring cars 
for Division Headquarters and others were driving motorcycles 
The assignment of men to trucks, touring cars and motorcycles 
was so arranged that each man became acquainted with each 
variety of transportation used in a Supply Train. 

The general rule adopted in the assignment of men to these 
different sorts of transportation was on the basis of developing 
as rapidly as possible an efficient Supply Train, not for the 
temporary service that might be rendered. Incidently the serv- 
ice rendered was also excellent, and before the winter had 
passed a large percentage of the transportation in Funston was 
bemg operated by the 314th Motor Supply Train and much of 
the functioning of the great camp was dependent on it 



17 



CHAPTER III. 

THE FINAL DAYS OF TRAINING AT FUNSTON. 

It was early in January, 1918, that an incident occurred 
which demonstrated to the entire train that their country ex- 
pected of them absolute obedience to authority. At the time 
it seemed to be an unfortunate incident but its immediate 
i)eneficial effect on the train more than balanced any temporary 
unpleasantness. 

The struggle to obtain equipment for the men had been a 
hard one. Many in midwinter were still wearing blue denim 
overalls; some few had not even overcoats; and in some cases 
when a man had worn out a pair of shoes it had been impos- 
sible to replace them immediately, and there had resulted some 
degrees of suffering. This was especially true of those receiv- 
ing truck instruction. During the first few weeks of the sever- 
est weather of that severe winter, there was no complaint from 
the men on trucks who seemed eager to obtain every chance 
to improve their knowledge of motor transportation. 

On probably the bitterest morning of the winter a portion 
of Company "E" was scheduled to go on trucks. During the 
night the dampened clothes and wet shoes of some of the drivers 
had frozen and the whistling of the wind outside when they 
awoke in the morning did not seem inviting to those who were 
due to report at Truck Company Headquarters at 7:00 A. M. 

Unfortunately at this juncture the acting First Sergeant 
of (|!ompany "E" went around among the drivers after reveille 
asking them if they wished to go on trucks that morning. As 
it was placed before them as a matter of choice all answered 
in the negative and the report was sent to Train Headquarters 
that Company "E" had refused to go on trucks. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Grimes immediately ordered the entire 
company under arrest in quarters and appointed Captain Cole, 
Captain Dickey and Lieutenant Mulheron as a board to invest- 
igate the facts of the case and make recommendations. The 
facts were quickly ascertained and the recommendations that "E" 
Company's Acting First Sergeant be reduced and the company re- 
leased from arrest were carried out. Since that time not once 
has a man in the train ever objected to a detail no matter how 
difficult, although in France men were repeatedly called upon 
to drive their trucks for days and nights at a time without rest 
until finally, given a moment's rest, they actually fell asleep at 
the wheel, mindless of the hell that was raging around them. 

By February 1, 1918, there were probably 150 efficient 
chauffeurs in the train and a corresponding quota of mechanics. 

19 



It was on this date that the first practice drive in convoy was 
held. Captain Cole had borrowed 25 trucks from the Motor 
Truck Battalion and six men were put on each truck. The 
drive was to Ft. Riley and Smokey Flats and each man was 
given a chance to drive up and down hill and across danger- 
ous bridges and to observe proper road discipline, a feature for 
which the train has been noted since its arrival in France. 
The men came home from this trip with something of an idea 
of the finesse of motor transportation in groups, whereas be- 
fore they had looked upon it merely from the standpoint of the 
working capacity of the individual truck. 

A Medical Detachment of eleven men in command of 
Captain C. M. Fuson had been attached to the train in January, 
and from that time on the train operated as an independent 
unit, under the Commanding General of the 89th Division. 

The work of the train had been slightly handicapped in the 
middle of January by the transfer from it of a number of 
skilled mechanics whom it had been planned to install in the 
company organizations as Company Mechanics. The War De- 
partment considered more urgent the immediate needs of the 
Aero Squadrons at Kelly Field, Texas, for skilled mechanics, and 
although this was a serious setback to the progress of the train, 
the work of instruction and development was pursued with 
more vigor than before. This effort was so successful that with- 
in a few weeks more a repair shop organized for the repair 
of motor transportation of the Fuller Construction Company 
(which had built Camp Funston) had as its mainstay ten 
mechanics from the Supply Train. 

During all this time there had been a vague rumor always 
hovering over and spurring on the work of the men, that a de- 
tachment from the Supply Train was to be sent to Detroit to 
convoy ten of the new Liberty trucks overland to Funston for 
the instruction of the train. For this purpose Company "A" 
had been especially prepared and equipped, and on at least two 
occasions had drawn rations and extra equipment with a view 
to starting on the detail at once, the order being expected at 
any time. The order did not come for over a month and a half. 
In the meantime the instruction of the entire train had been 
completed, and each company had been so thoroughly developed 
that each was capable of handling efficiently a train of trucks. 

The latter part of March an order came from Division 
Headquarters directing that the names of 120 men be sub- 
mitted for replacements for the 35th Division at Fort Sill, Okla., 
which was scheduled for immediate service overseas. That 
meant inevitably that sooner or later, untrained men would be 
received by the organization who would have to be carefully 
instructed to replace this large group of men whose training 
had already been completed. 

The same day these men were transferred a telegram came 
from the War Deparment ordering a detachment of two officers 
and 22 men to report at once at Moline, Illinois, to the Velie 
Motor Company plant to convoy Liberty trucks to Funston. The 
order which had been awaited so long, came at a time when 
it was really unexpected but the next day Captain Cole, Lieut. 
E. M. McGuffey and a detail of skilled men from each company 
were on their way to Moline with complete equipment neces- 
sary for the return journey. 

20 



As for the much larger percentage of the train which re- 
mained at Funston, they pursued the practical work of driving 
trucks, the theoretical instruction having ceased with the de- 
parture of Captain Cole. In addition the train continued to 
furnish its camp detail for the military police guard, on which 
duty all the men continually refreshed their knowledge of in- 
fantry drill and incidentally acquired a valuable insight into the 
intricacies of Interior Guard Duty. In addition to this, every 
man in the train had, in the meantime completed the prescribed 
firing course on the rifle range, an average of all men firing in 
the train, showing that it ranked high among the organizations in 
the Division. Those hikes to the rifle range will always be a 
vivid memory to those in the Supply Train who joined it at 
Funston. 

Wilh the departure of Captain Cole, Lieutenant Bernet had 
been appointed Acting Adjutant and had been replaced as Sup- 
ply Officer by Lieutenant McKinney. 

On April 23, 1918, Lieutenant-Colonel Grimes, who during 
his six months in command of the train had seen it develop 
into a unified and efficient military organization, was relieved 
from duty with the Supply Train and assigned to the 164th 
Depot Brigade. He took with him the veneration and esteem 
of everyone in the organization; for every officer and man real- 
ized that he was a better soldier for having served under 
Lieutenant-Colonel Grimes. 

With the departure of Lieutenant-Colonel Grimes, Captain 
Frank C. Wilkins, Commanding Officer of Company "D" had 
assumed command of the train by virtue of seniority, in the 
absence of Captain Cole. A short time previous to this he had 
been transferred to the Supply Train from the 355th Infantry 
Regiment, bringing with him high qualities of leadership, and 
the very valuable experience of many years of military service. 

In the next few weeks came the much dreaded field in- 
spection of all organizations of the Division by Major-General 
Leonard Wood himself, but the Supply Train came through 
this so successfully from the standpoint of drill and discipline 
that General Wood is reported to have turned to his Chief of 
Staff when the Supply Train passed in column of squads and 
asked what well trained Infantry Battalion was approaching. The 
men all went to their bunks tired but happy in the realization 
that their hard work had vindicated itself that day. 

On the arrival of the detachment from the Supply Train at 
Moline, 111., Captain Cole had at once reported at the plant 
of the Velie Company. As no trucks were ready at once for 
the return trip, and there w^as a scarcity of spare-parts. Captain 
Cole put his entire detachment in the shops of the Velie Com- 
pany for the purpose of assisting in the assembly of trucks. 
He realized that in this work they would be able to obtain in- 
timate knowledge of the operation of the new Liberty truck. 
At that time it was generally understood that the Liberty truck 
would be used exclusively in the American Expeditionary 
Forces and Captain Cole was very anxious to build up a strong 
nucleus for the instruction of the entire train in its operation 
on his return. 

The course of instruction for the Liberty truck developed 
by Captain Cole in Moline was just as systematic as had been 
the school which had run for three and one-half months in Camp 

21 



Funston. The course included a thorough study of the entire 
plant of the Velie Company, but the principal stress was placed 
on the assembly of the trucks. So successful was the detach- 
ment in this work that on May 4, 1918, it had completely as- 
sembled the first Liberty truck to come from the Velie plant 
which tests showed would not have to be sent back into the 
shop for readjustments. 

On that same day the detachment started back for Funston 
with a convoy of ten Liberty trucks, each man absolutely 
familiar with its operation, and entirely cognizant of its pos- 
sibilities and shortcomings. On the return trip the detachment 
gained a great amount of valuable experience in road work and 
convoying which later meant much in the instruction of the 
companies, each company being represented in the detachment. 

It was on the 15th of May, 1918, that the convoy of ten trucks 
rolled into Funston bearing the detachment of men, much more 
valuable to the train because of this short period of intensified 
training. They came back to an organization feverishly pre- 
paring itself for departure; for the 89th Division had been 
ordered overseas. 

Captain Cole immediately assumed command of the train 
and under his direction the final work of completing and mark- 
ing equipment and preparing it for shipment was done. During 
this time of intense preparation when every man was kept at 
the highest pitch of excitement, time was found to give every 
man in the train a hurried but complete course of instruction 
in the new motor and Liberty truck. 

During these two weeks the personnel of officers of the 
train was also completed by careful selection from the Infantry 
Regiments and Depot Brigade. Lieut. Wm. Pierson had been as- 
signed to Company "A" as junior officer with Captain Dickey; 
Captain Walter S. Fulkerson had been assigned to command 
Company "B" with Lieut. Thos. Mulheron as his junior officer. 
Capt. Orr, promoted from a lieutenancy, retained the command 
of Company "C," with Lieut. McGuffey, just fresh from the trip 
to Moline, as his junior officer. Lieut. John W. Upp, Jr. had 
been assigned to Company "D" as junior officer to Captain Frank 
C. Wilkins. Capt. Ralph McGee had been placed in command 
of Company "E" with Lieutenant G. W. Bottorff who had super- 
seded Lieut. Kavanaugh a month before as his junior officer. 
Capt. H. V. Pusch was assigned to the command of Company 
"F," with Lieut. Ledford as his junior officer. 

The work of completion of equipment, instruction of the 
men, checking up of records was continued until the last pos- 
sible moment. In fact the baggage of the train was hauled 
to the depot on the Liberty trucks just before they were turned 
over to the Camp Quartermaster by the Supply Officer. 

It was the morning of June 4, 1918, that the train lined up 
in column of squads on the same road which had seen its birth 
just eight months before; and then marched quietly but with 
an appearance of determination on every face to the Union 
Pacific Depot bound for Camp Mills and France, 



22 



CHAPTER IV. 
CAMP MILLS, L. L, N. Y. 

The trip from Funston to Camp Mills was uneventful. It 
was an affair of tourist sleepers, and straight rations — through 
Kansas City, St. Louis, Huntington, Indiana and on to Jersey 
City; by ferry across to Long Island City and on up Long 
Island to Mills. 

To the majority of men in the Supply Train the most vivid 
memories of that trip are the shouting and waving crowds at 
the stations through which the train passed, the snorting and 
loud whistling of locomotives, and the delightful times twice 
a day when the train was stopped so that the men might exer- 
cise and get a rest from the wearisome train ride. The Red 
Cross entertainment committees were usually waiting with 
cocoa and cakes or ice cream as the train pulled into the sta- 
tion; and many a romance of the heart had its beginning in 
ten or fifteen minute conversations which took place while the 
train was in the station at one of the towns along the road. 

The trip from Jersey City to Long Island was the first op- 
portunity for many in the train to see that wondrous New York 
skyline, and the sides of the ferry were crowded with them, 
many believing that this might be their last sight of New York 
before their return from the Great War. 

The Supply Train arrived in Camp Mills about 6:00 P. M. 
June 7, 1918, about 320 men strong, and each company averag- 
ing about 50 men. The train was marched through the camp to 
a section of tents assigned to it and with the dawn of the next 
morning began a strenuous period of completing equipment, a 
certain amount of drill, but above all a series of inspections. 
There were inspections of equipment and arms, of officers and 
men. and then finally a thorough inspection of records. 

In those 20 days, while the train was awaiting transporta- 
tion overseas, most of the men who wished to see New York 
had an opportunity to go there on a pass overnight, although in- 
spections held every one in camp in the day-time. In the middle 
of the month the train received a replacement of 120 men sent 
from a Depot Brigade at Camp Upton. The majority of the 
men were untrained in motor mechanics and but slightly trained 
in infantry drill, although with but few exceptions they showed 
a willingness to do whatever was assigned them, and also an 
eagerness to benefit by whatever instruction it was possible to 
give them. 

We had learned with regret on first arriving at Camp Mills 
of the relief of Major General Wood from the command of the 

23 



Division at the Port of Embarkation. Brigadier General Winn, 
on the relief of General Wood had assumed command of the 
Division. 

Havirg completed the equipment of the train as far as it 
was available (minus motor transportation) and the records of 
the train having passed the rigid inspection given them there, 
orders were finally received ordering the train to report at Pier 
65 on June 27, 1918, prepared to board Transport No. 515. 

Major Lee A. McCalla, of the 342nd Field Artillery, was at- 
tached to the train the day before its departure to command 
the transport overseas. An advance party consisting of Lieut. 
Bernet, whom he had appointed Ship's Adjutant, and Sergeant 
Waterman and Corp. Linstrom of Headquarters Det. left Camp 
Mills the night of June 25, 1918, spent the evening in New York 
and went over to Hoboken, New Jersey, to be taken by lighter to 
Transport No. 515 along with the advance parties of all the 
organizations which were to sail in the same convoy. 

The remainder of the train left Camp Mills at 8:30 A. M., 
June 27, 1918, went by train to Pier 65 and were expeditiously 
checked on to the ship at 11:00 A. M. Transport No. 515 proved 
to be none other than the fine Belgian ^passenger liner "Lap- 
land" camouflaged to withstand the dangers of submarine war- 
fare; for at this time the German undersea fleets were vigorously 
waging a last desperate warfare to halt the steady stream of 
American soldiers flowing to Europe, by attempting to sink the 
transports that bore them. 



24 



CHAPTER V. 
ON THE "LAPLAND." 

Probably no one who was aboard the "Lapland" as it 
steamed away from New York harbor that early morning of 
June 28th, 1918, will ever forget the wonderful sight he saw, the 
huge painted ships going out to sea, quietly although lined with 
thousands of soldiers some of whom were seeing their native 
land for the last time that morning. The War Department had 
but a few weeks before rescinded the regulation which pre- 
viously had required all soldiers to remain below decks as 
the convoys left New York harbor. 

They were determined earnest soldiers as they stood there, 
realizing the solemnity of that moment. The wonderful sky- 
line of New York and the Statue of Liberty fading in the dis- 
tance symbolized for them the greatness of the country which 
now had considered them sufficiently trained and ready to re- 
present it in the greatest war of History, the struggle for civil- 
ization itself. 

Regulations forbade the soldiers cheering, but the huge 
liners lying in the harbor could not be denied. As the great 
camouflaged ships left their moorings and plowed proudly out 
they began a din of whistling which did not end until the ships 
had passed over the horizon. 

And in addition a huge dirigible had accompanied the ships 
as they went to sea, watchful for the enemy's undersea boats. 
To many that first day even was symbolical of what they were 
going to fight — the ships and dirigibles of the United States leav- 
ing for the crusade and fearful only of the enemy's hidden 
weapons, her lurking U-boats. 

As if by magic, when the "Lapland" had gotten well out of 
the harbor the convoy began to form, and then for the first time 
the immensity of the con\oy was realized. The "Lapland" took 
its position in the left forward corner of the convoy. On her 
right was the palatial "Justitia" bearing 164th Artillery Brigade 
Headquarters. This same Justitia was torpedoed and sunk on 
her return trip to the United States. In the same convoy were 
the "Metagama" and the "Osterley", and ten other passenger 
ships in addition to the naval convoy. The U. S. S. "Hunting- 
ton" was the ship from which all orders for the convoy were re- 
ceived. When not covering the entire area in front of the con- 
voy on the lookout for submarines the "Huntington" kept her 
place out at the right front of the convoy. She was replaced 
when two days out at sea by the "Virginian." 

As the novelty of this beautiful view of the ships lined up in 
column of fours wore off, the process of orientation commenced 
for everyone. On the ship were approximately 2200 men and 

25 



women connected with the military forces of the United States. 
There were besides the personnel of the Supply Train, six com- 
panies of casuals with approximately 250 men in each, a unit 
of female telephone operators with 60 in the unit, a Base Hos- 
pital with 35 officers and 125 men, and in addition 50 casual 
officers, who were for the most part Railroad Engineers. 

Major McCalia, in addition to his appointment of Lieutenant 
Bernet as Ship Adjutant from the Supply Train, appointed Lieut. 
John W. Upp. Jr., Asst. Adjutant and Capt. H. V. Pusch, Company 
"F", to command the casuals on the ship. The men had been 
assigned to their bunks in the various sections of the boat by 
companies, although many were later allowed to sleep up on 
the deck when the "Lapland" was passing through the danger 
zone. Now came the more complex work of the assignment of 
every officer and man to a life boat or raft. This was done by 
Lieut. L^pp. 

Shortly after the departure from the harbor the order was 
posted that everyone in the military service should wear his 
life belt from that time until the arrival at the Port of 
Debarkation, except when at meals or asleep. Even at those 
times the life belt was required to be near at hand, and for the 
first few days it was a strange-looking and uncomfortable en- 
cumbrance. 

It was at once evident that the proper military handling of 
so huge a ship in time of war meant the assignment of many 
details. There were 31 guard posts which made necessary a 
large guard relief. Then the enforcement of the numerous 
police regulations which had been devised for the safety of the 
ship, made necessary the appointment of a permanent military 
police. Capt. B. F. Dickey, was made Military Police" Officer, 
with Lieut. E. M. McGuffey as his assistant and 30 men were 
detached from duty with Company "A" and formed into a 
temporary military police company. 

The principal duties of the military police were to see that 
no trash or refuse was thrown overboard which might assist 
the lurking submarines in their hunt for the convoy, to see that 
lights were all extinguished above decks at a specified hour 
each evening, and to enforce any other order which the Com- 
manding Officer might consider necessary for the safety of the 
ship. 

A submarine guard was detailed in addition to the regular 
guard and these men sat at all hours of day or night with teles- 
cope in hand, watching out for the moving ripple of the peris- 
cope. In addition to this watch, there was a watch from the 
crow's nest which was taken care of entirely by the ship's 
crew. 

The first boat drill was held the morning after the day 
of departure from New York, and twice a day thereafter at 
10:00 A. M. ard 3:00 P. M. The sounding of assembly by the 
buglers was followed by boat muster, this becoming daily 
more orderly and military. 

The second day out found many of the men ill, because 
they were unaccustomed to the sea and somewhat crowded in 
their quarters, but there was little complaint. All details were 
cheerfully accepted and some men almost too weak from sea- 
sickness to leave their bunks in their anxiety to comply with 
orders struggled to boat-drill twice a day to make it complete. 

26 



The daily inspection of the ship at 10:00 A. M. began also 
the second day, and on this, in addition to Major McCalla, and 
Capt. Morehouse, an English Officer of the Merchant Marine 
in command of the ship, were Captain Cole, commanding the 
Supply Train, Captain Pusch, and a representative of the Com- 
manding Officer of the Base Hospital. A number of Y. M. C. A. 
and Red Cross men and women completed the military forces 
on the ship, but in addition on the passenger list were a 
number of civilians from all nations — among whom were Lady 
Muriel Paget of London, just returning from Red Cross work in 
Russia, a group of Japanese statesmen, and a number of English 
officers and their wives. 

July 4th was a day of much pleasure for every one aboard 
the ship. At reveille all aboard were called to boat muster — 
then as the sun rose the American flag was hoisted at the prow 
while the buglers blew "To the Colors", and every man aboard 
the ship stood paying his homage to the flag. At eleven 
o'clock a salute of 21 guns in honor of the national holiday was 
given by the naval convoy. 

In both the morning and afternoon athletic sports were held 
and speeches were made, one of the speeches being by 
President Schuerman of Cornell University, just coming 
to Europe for six months' work with the Y. M. C. A. In the 
afternoon fruits and candies were distributed, especial atten- 
tion being paid those who had been so weakened by the trip that 
they were unable to participate in the sports. 

In the evening at retreat, as the sun went below the horizon, 
the flag was lowered with the troops again in formation of boat 
muster. 

So northerly a route was taken that the last part of the 
trip found the nights almost as bright as" day — but at the same 
time the more dangerous points were being approached. One 
by one the naval convoy was augumented by destroyers which 
plied back and forth and around the convoy valiantly. Finally 
the convoy was making its way between the coasts of Ireland 
and Scotland, around the Irish coast which had been the scene 
of disaster to so many good ships. 

During these last few days before the actual arrival at 
Liverpool the convoy had been constantly in danger of sub- 
marines. In fact at one time the Huntington had hoisted the 
submarine danger signal on discovering that two submarines 
were lying off to the right in front of the convoy. However, 
when the destroyers gave chase the submarines hastily disap- 
peared, the Huntington firing one depth bomb at the retreat- 
ing foe. 

During this dangerous period all the ships pursued a stag- 
gard course, veering off from port to lee, and vice versa; all 
the landlubbers aboard wondering how it was possible on those 
nights for all the ships to keep their route so accurately that 
the next morning found them in the same relative position. 

At any rate shortly before midnight July 9th, all lights on 
the "liapland"' were suddenly flashed on, revealing the fict that 
the ship was now in safety and that Liverpool had been reached. 

Although the passage had been ideal, but little rain and no 
storm, there was probably no one on the boat who regretted its 
conclusion. Because of the urgent necessity, which existed at 
that time of rushing man-power to France, the "Lapland" just as 

2.7 



with all other ships in the convoy, was too crowded to allow 
any systematic drill or instruction to be introduced. Those 
days of looking out over the broad expanse of the sea were long 
ones, and in addition, the men were neither accustomed to the 
English ration nor again to the English ship's cooks. 

However, the health on the boat had been exceptional. An 
aged civilian had died while the boat was in mid-ocean and 
been buried with the usual ceremonies in the sea. A few cases 
of measles and mumps had worried the boat's physicians as to 
the danger of quarantine, but the number of cases involved 
was too few to make this necessary. The only death among 
our troops on board occurred while the boat was lying in Liver- 
pool harbor on the night of July 9th, when a man from one 
of the Companies of Casuals died. 

The early morning of July 10th, found countless details at 
work preparing the baggage and freight to be quickly unloaded, 
once the tide permitted the ship to come into dock. Travel 
rations had been issued the day before to care for the men 
on the trip from the Port of Debarkation to the first Rest Camp. 

Paper work of which there had been a great deal on the 
boat in preparation for the entry into the American Expedition- 
ary Forces, had been brought up to completion, and about 10:30 
A. M. the "Lapland" slowly moved towards the dock being one 
of the first in the convoy to make a landing. 

Who will ever forget the sight that greeted the "Lapland" 
as it slowly moved in to the dock? It was a Liverpool whose 
ancient buildings were literally alive with American flags, and 
whose shores were crowded with English people eager to show 
their spirit of fraternity. The average American is accustomed 
to think of the English people as stolid, indifferent, incapable 
of showing any emotion; but such was not the crowd of English- 
men which greeted the "Lapland" at Liverpool. It was a cheer- 
ing spirited crowd that edged as close to the spot where the 
Americans would debark as possible. 

As the "Lapland" came closer to the dock and the American 
transport and personnel officers were waiting for a chance to 
spring aboard, the British military band struck up the Star 
Spangled Banner; and the occasion, and the spirit with which 
they rendered it made it take on a new and deeper significance 
to every man who snapped to attention and salute as he 
heard it. 

An Englishwoman on the "Lapland," the wife of a Lieutenant- 
Colonel thrice wounded in the war, scanned the long rows of 
America's offering to the peace of the w^orld, then looking to- 
ward one group near her through moist eyes, she said, "The 
smiling lash that hides a tear." 

For at that moment the fiercest part of the storm was ap- 
proaching — within four days the Kaiser launched his last of- 
fensive, the offensive on which he banked everything, which 
was stopped by the Americans at Chateau Thierry. 

Tlius the 314th Supply Train became an integral part of the 
American Expeditionary Forces before its trial by steel, and just 
before the beginning of the great battle which proved to 
be the turning point in the war; for it was four days later, 
France's "Bastile Day," that the attack was launched against 
Chateau Thierry whose objective was the heart of France, 
Paris. 

23 



PART II. 
IN THE FIRST AMERICAN ARMY. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE BATTLE OP REST CAMPS. 

It was a dock crowded with thousands of American soldiers 
awaiting transportation to camps in all parts of England on 
which the "Lapland" was unloaded. The units which had been 
aboard nie "Lapland" were immediately separated by the Rail- 
way Transport officer, some being given immediate transporta- 
tion away from the port to the different rest camps. 

The Supply Train was marched off the docks to a side street 
until its transportation to Winchester should be ready; for that 
was the point designated as a rest camp for the tram The 
men scattered themselves along the street as comfortably as 
possible, making a lunch off of what had been issued on the 

^^^ intermittent rains made the day uncomfortable, but Red 
Cross canteens furnished an opportunity to buy some food and 
plenty of hot coffee. Incidentally each received a first intro- 
duction to the English money system and converted a few good 
American dollars into pounds, crowns and shillings, consider- 
ing the possibility of an extended halt in an English rest camp. 
The departure from the ship had been accompanied by the loss 
of four Sergeants, First Class, from the train who up to that 
time had filled a certain place in its working machinery. 
Sergeant-Major W. E. O'Donnell, Harry M. Wait 1st Sergeant of 
Company "A," John W. Trenchard 1st Sergeant of Company 
"E" and Wm. C. White 1st Sergeant of the Medical Detach- 
ment were all left in a Contact Camp in Liverpool because of 
their exposure to Diphtheria the last few days aboard the "Lap- 
land." Theirs was a long and weary road before they rejoined 
the Supplv Train three months later at the front. 

About 8:00 P. M. a train w^as boarded which carried pas- 
senger coaches of all descriptions, but fortunately a seat for 
every man. At 8:40 o'clock the Supply Train was once more on 
its way, this time on a trip almost across England. 

The trip was over historic country — regions which had not 
been the actual scene of conflict for hundreds of years although 
they are all full of battlefields of the many conquests of the 
original races which inhabited that little Isle. 

At Leicester at 2:00 A. M. came the only "coffee stop." The 
sleeping hundreds on the train were awakened, formed in single 
file and hurried through a canteen, where their cups were filled 
with steaming hot coffee. Then they returned to their com- 
partments and the train was again on its way. In quick succes- 

31 



sion the famous towns of Sheffield, Nottingham, Rugby, Ban- 
bury. Oxford and Basingstone were passed through; and then 
at 8:00 A. M. the train came to a halt in wonderful old Win- 
chester. But it was just such a downpour of rain as had at- 
tended most of the movements of the Supply Train that the 
organization found awaiting it in Winchester. 

The weary march through the drenched streets of Win- 
chester out to Camp Winnall Dowm commenced at once, and by 
noon the train was located in camp there and w^as having 
another experience with the English ration and the vagaries 
of the English climate. 

That day in camp gave but little opportunity for the 
organizations' personnel to see any of the historic points in 
Winchester, among which were Winchester Abbey and one of 
the dAvelling places of William the Conqueror. The outstanding 
feature of the stay there was the first real acquaintance it gave 
with rest camps for although Camp Winnall Down was technic- 
ally known as a rest camp there w^as everything but rest to be 
found there. At 5:30 the next morning the train was once more 
formed and marched toward the railroad station where the 
short trip to Southampton was commenced at 8:10 A. M. 

The Supply Train was set off on the docks at Southampton 
at 9:30 A. M. and assigned a certain portion of the space on 
the dock to rest until night when the trip across the English 
Channel might be made more safely. Once more all the organ- 
ization baggage had to be handled, this time being loaded onto 
the "Londonderry" which the English Railway Transport Of- 
ficers had specified as the ship which would carry the Supply 
Train across the channel. 

With little to do but wait, the rest on the docks at South- 
ampton until the ship was ready to board was a tiresome one. 
At eight o'clock the troops marched on, however, and found as 
their companions a group of British Tommies going back from 
leave to the trenches. There were also a number of British of- 
ficers aboard and a very few Italian officers. 

Peculiarly enough the Americans w^ere in command of the 
boat and as a result all details fell to the Supply Train. These 
included a small submarine w^atch and a large guard which was 
posted immediately the vessel was boarded. The ship was 
small and the troops aboard were so crowded there was not 
really place for all to lie down. This coupled with a rain which 
commenced as the ship went out into the channel, and a very 
heavy sea made the night an uncomfortable one. 

Just before coming out into the channel one of the English 
Marine officers aboard pointed out a large ship whose prow had 
been crushed in the week before by a submarine but a few 
miles from Southampton. This was an added incentive to the 
efforts of the submarine guard. That night reports were pre- 
pared by Supply Train Headquarters for all troops aboard the 
ship, so that for the first time the train was associated in an 
Allied command. 

In the early morning the channel became calmer 
and then came the first sight of France, the port of 
Le Havre. It was a port teeming with industry, hundreds of 
ships lying at dock, some coming in and others sallying forth. 
The picture of Le Havre presented from the "Londonderry" was 
a quaint one, and the poilus here and there dotting the dock 

32 



with blue made it seem like the France each one had expected to 
see. The "Londonderry" docked at about 6:00 A. M. and the train 
came ashore at once, was formed and on its way on the long 
march to Camp No. 1, up the winding hills Avhich skirt Le 
Havre. But little opportunity was given to see the town but as 
the men marched along the docks they had their first sight of 
German prisoners. There were hundreds of them in lines 
doing road work near the docks and others working about the 
dock. Their guards were grizzled old poilus who lazily watched 
them, gun on shoulder, poilus who had already done their best 
in the war and would never see the front again. The German 
prisoners for the most part seemed well contented with their 
fate, and not in the least anxious to test the patience of their 
guards. 

For the first time on any of the many interims in the travel 
of the train to France, the sun began to shine brightly, as the 
companies marched briskly through the streets of Le Havre. 
The sight of the thousands of soldiers of all nations who be- 
fore that time had marched through those streets to the all 
devouring front had so jaded the sensibilities of most of the 
citizens of Le Havre, that the march through the busiest 
districts caused but little comment, among them. Little gamins 
in quaint little blue caps and coats, who announced proudly 
in French that they were poilus waved gaily — countless women 
in black garments watched the ranks with sadness, and vener- 
able white-haired old men who had probably seen France's 
humiliation at the hands of another Kaiser in 1870, saluted 
gravely. 

Toward the limits of the city, when every man was some- 
what tired — what with the heat of the day, the long walk, and 
limbs which had accustomed themselves to the rolling of the 
sea, — a halt was suddenly ordered. 

A French civilian had stepped from in front of a vine- 
covered municipal building toward the moving column of 
troops, followed by a beautiful little French child who carried 
in her arms a large bouquet of flowers. 

The Frenchman waited until the men had had a chance 
to unsling their packs and then gave a little speech of wel- 
come in French. He said that as Mayor of the city he wel- 
comed the American troops who were coming to save France, 
and when he had finished the little girl stepped' forward and 
with a pretty little curtsey presented the bouquet of flowers. 
It w^as one of those little incidents which can hardly be de- 
scribed, but whose spirit is the spirit of France, and whose 
doing made every man feel that he was coming to stand side 
by side in battle with men of his own kind. 

The men marched the rest of the way to camp with an in- 
vigorated step. The camp assigned to the train in common 
with the 314th Military Police, also of the 89th Division, was 
an old British tuberculosis camp, a sort of stockade enclosed 
with barbed wire in which several hundred tents each of which 
accommodated eight men had been put up over wooden plat- 
forms. The company cooks were then given their first op- 
portunity since leaving Camp Mills to prepare mess, and it 
was a pleasant return to the proper order of company ad- 
ministration. 

33 



A bath house was at once discovered in the camp enclosure, 
and a schedule arranged so that every man would get a much 
needed bath before the train would continue its travels. The 
bath was not the normal hot water shower but probably even 
more effective. It was the hot air bath followed by the rinsing 

sliower. . .. n 

Movement in the camp was very limited, practically none 
being allowed to visit Le Havre; but on the morning of July 
14th, on the request of the Commanding Officer of Camp No. 1, 
twenty non-commissioned officers of the train were sent in 
trucks down to the city to act as platoon and squad leaders 
of the American troops who were to march in the Bastile Day 
parade through the streets of Le Havre. This was to end with 
a wonderfully stirring ceremony and the presentation of decora- 
tions by the French military authorities to their soldiers just 
back on leave from the trenches for this occasion. 

Just as our own "Star-Spangled Banner" had struck a 
deeper chord in our hearts than ever before as the "Lapland" 
had' come into Liverpool Harbor, so did the Marseillaise in- 
spire a more adequate conception of its real meaning fn the 
hearts of all Americans who heard it played by the Poilu bands 
in Le Havre that day. 

But that night every one retired to his hard bed on the 
tent floors troubled in mind for at 11:00 P. M. Captain Cole 
received orders for the movement of the train the next day, 
but it was not for a movement of the organization as a unit. 

The order relieved Major L. A. McCalla from attachment 
to the train and ordered. Headquarters Detachment, a portion 
of the Medical Detachment and Companies "A" and "B" to move 
to St. Nazaire; Companies "C" and "D" to Bordeaux, and Com- 
panies "E" and "F" and the remainder of the Medical De- 
tachment to Marseilles. Although not one man in the train 
was told of the move that night there was a general feeling of 
uneasiness throughout — hasty goodbyes, and men telling each 
other sadly that the train was to be split, and each portion 
might be used for transport work at some base port instead of 
the organization getting to the front as a unit immediately as 
had been hoped. 

Further on in the night this sleep became more troubled 
still for every man for the first time heard the ominous rumbling 
of enemy artillery in the distance, and then the low answering 
rumbling of the French artillery responding to the .challenge. 
All that night the breeze carried on it the dull rumbling of the 
artillery duel along the entire front which was preceding the 
terrible fight at Chateau Thierry in which for the first time 
the American doughboys were to come into their own in a 
big way. 

At 7:00 A. M. the next day not realizing that one of the 
most important battles in the world's history was raging but a 
few hundred miles away, Headquarters Detachment, a portion 
of the Medical Detachment and Companies "A," "B," "C" and 
"D." marched to the railway station at Le Havre all leaving on 
the same train at 11:15 A. M. 

The departure was by a different sort of transportation from 
any that the men had ever known before but which has since 
become familiar to hundreds of thousands of American soldiers 
as "40 Hommes 8 Chevaux" (40 men or 8 horses) travel, because 

34 



of the sign painted on the outside of each box car. About 32 
men were loaded in each car, each being about half the size 
of the average freight car known in the States, and with them 
were loaded all their boxes of reserve rations. 

The wearisome train ride with the customary illogical de- 
lays, side-tracking and switching which we have all come to 
associate with continental transportation began. Although the 
route from Le Havre to St. Nazaire was a comparatively new 
one for members of the American Expeditionary Forces yet the 
children along the way had already become familiar with the 
generosity of the American soldier, and in little groups cried 
"Souvenir" and "biscuits" as the train rolled along, scrambling 
for what was thrown to them. 

The first town of any importance to be passed was Rouen 
which was then quite extensively used as a Base Hospital center 
for the A. B. F. After this the route was almost directly south 
through Bernay, Alencon and on down to LeMans which was 
reached the next day. Here the cars containing the personnel 
and equipment of Companies "C" and "D" were switched from 
the train and sent on direct to Bordeaux. 

In the meantime Companies "B" and "F" had departed 
the night before on the long trip to Marseilles. 

Train travel in France is almost identical everywhere and 
especially is this true when the travel is by the 40 Hommes — 
8 Chevaux routing. That sort of travel has been immortalized 
by countless aspiring poets of our Bxpeditionary Forces who 
have learned by necessity to sleep on the hard floors of a box 
car with too little room to completely stretch out, and with 
each others shoulders as pillows. 

On this trip the hardest problem for all was how to procure 
water for drinking and for washing mess-kits. It always seemed 
true that exactly the time when the canteens were dry, the 
water hydrants at the stations along the way would be labelled 
"Eau non potable." It was also just as true that just as, with 
the aid of a few French words some one had discovered a 
hydrant with good drinking water, the French railway officials 
would decide it was just about time to depart and the train 
would go tooting on its way with a string of khaki-clad figures 
hastening after it and clambering into the box cars which for 
those few days meant home. 

The service of the Red Cross in offering coffee, chocolate 
and cakes in their canteens which appeared at rare intervals 
along the way meant that that organi.Tiation would never be 
criticized by the many who partook of its good offices at that 
time. 

As for the experience of the Companies enroute, Company 
"B" and "F" probably saw the most interesting sight when, 
passing around Paris they were in time to see the finish of a 
Boche air-raid on France's capital. The rest of the journey to 
southern France was a quiet one for them until they were 
located in camp outside Marseilles and attempting to get some 
practical experience in motor transportation. 

Exactly the same thing was happening in Bordeaux and 
St. Nazaire, On arrival in camp at St. Nazaire, Captain Cole 
had at once gone to Motor Transport Headquarters and placed 
as many of the train personnel in the motor park there as pos- 
sible. Captain Wilkins at Bordeaux had similarly attempted 

35 



to place Companies "C" and "D" in the motor park there, but 
without success. The large number of the permanent person- 
nel within these parks made it impossible to get any work for 
the Supply Train personnel which would repay the time spent 
in them. 

In all three camps it was a time of uncertainty for the men, 
—fear that each detachment might be permanently assigned for 
transport work at the camp in which it was temporarily rest- 
ing, and the resultant fear that the organization would never 
see the front — but above all the fear that the three detachments 
might never be reunited to make up a unified 314th Motor Sup- 
ply Train, ac a part of the 89th Division. 

In those days in camp also came the first experiences with 
French money, for immediately on arrival in camp each detach- 
ment had made up pay-rolls, and the payment of the Companies 
had been in francs. This was before the time that the term 
"beaucoup francs" had any real significance to the men. Every 
man felt himself to be somewhat of a millionaire that first pay- 
day, his pay in dollars being multiplied by 5.7 to determine his 
pay in francs. The strange looking French money was at once 
dubbed "soap-wrappers," but its convenience and efficacy as a 
means of exchange was soon demonstrated. The trips to the 
city were rare opportunities. 

In this time also the company clerks received their initia- 
tion into the complicated but efficient personnel record system 
which has enabled the A. E. F. to keep such a careful check 
on all its men. . 

On July 21st on orders received from Motor Transport 
Headquarters at St. Nazaire, Lieut. Pierson and a detail of 30 
men from the detachment there started out convoying 22 G. M. 
C. ambulances to the Zone of the Advance, with orders to re- 
port at Dijon for further instructions. That term "Zone of the 
Advance" had a magnetic sound to it then. As the detail 
clambered into trucks to be taken down to the park to pick up 
their convoy, every one looked after them enviously for it 
seemed they were among the chosen few who were starting 
off to the promised land, the. land of adventure. 

At the same time Lieut. Ledford was starting from Mar- 
seilles with a detail of men from Companies ' E" and "F" con- 
voying Cadillac touring cars to Chaumont. Their trip through 
a portion of the Alps was probably as picturesque as any that 
any detachment of the train had ever taken. 

Still there seemed to be no hope for those left behind. 
They did their infantry drill as faithfully as possible and got 
what practical experience in motor transportation they could; 
but everyone was impatient for the move which must bring 
them closer to the front. 

It was on the night of July 23rd, that each detachment 
commander received a copy of an order from General Head- 
quarters directing him to report not later than July 28 to the 
Commanding General, S9th Division at Rimaucourt, Haute 
Marne. The order received by each detachment commander was 
a separate one which referred in no way to the movement of 
the entire train; but each was hopeful and reallv believed that 
It was to mean a reuniting of the Supply Train, and a forecast 
of service as a unit of the 89th Division. 

36 



As for the men the mere fact that a move was to take place 
and that that move was toward that ever — changing eastward 
line, was enough to make every man willing and anxious to bear 
whatever were the hardships of railway travel incident to it. 

The travel across France was really full of hardships, al- 
though second and third class passenger coaches were provided 
for almost all the men. The trip to Rimaucourt was over a part 
of the country untouched by the ravages of war, and the only 
evidence that could be seen which indicated that a war was 
raging, were the train-loads of salvage, ammunition, and artil- 
lery pieces, the fiat-cars loaded with wrecked and burned aero- 
planes, and here and there in the towns along the way a poilu 
on permission who showed by the lines in his face, his years 
under fire at the front. Now and then also a hospital train of 
wounded being rushed from the front to some base, passed. 

Each detachment spent several days enroute at Is-Sur-Tille, 
the regulating station for that portion of the front, and then 
went on the short ride to Rimaucourt. 

Headquarters and Medical Detachments, and Companies "A" 
and "B" reached Rimaucourt almost exactly at noon of July 
29th and found Lieut. Pierson and Lieut. Ledford with their 
detachments waiting for the arrival of the rest of the train. 

The other two detachments arrived on August 2nd, and the 
train was once more united and a unit of the 89th Division now 
scattered in the small towns throughout this area with Di- 
vision Headquarters at Reynel, France. 



37 




Sector Below Flirey. 



CHAPTER YII. 

INTO THE LINE. 

Each of the various French towns in the Advanced Sec- 
tion of the SOS. through which we passed as we came up 
to Rimaucourt, had successively tlirilled us more and more. 
Each night we expected to come within sound of the big guns. 

Is-Sur-Tille with its men w^earing their helmets and gas- 
masks had seemed like a frontier city because of the general 
air of uneasy restlessness which pervaded it. The sight of 
women and children along the way had seemed to become rarer 
and rarer. More and more we were beginning to feel that we 
were approaching the outposts of civilization. 

But in Rimaucourt, 40 miles from the front, everything 
was peaceful, as if no war existed. It is true there were no 
able-bodied Frenchmen to be seen anywhere, but the women 
and old men had cheerfully taken their places, and the town 
seemed to be functioning normally. The public washing place 
was crowded with French women scrubbing clothes, among 
which in goodly quantities were the O. D. clothing of the 
Americans. The children played over the streets in a care-free 
manner, seeming not to fear that the line of Olive Drab which 
stood between the Hun and them would ever break. 

It was in Rimaucourt that the train had its first experience 
with the billeting system which is brought up to such a high 
state of development in France. The men were billeted in hay- 
lofts and empty rooms, a large percentage of them rolling up 
in their blankets on piles of straw, and wondering what new 
variety of parasite would have attacked them by morning. The 
French people had at once shown their eagerness to be agree- 
able by doing whatever was possible for the comfort of the 
soldiers, but the little town was so overtaxed for billeting space 
that there was but little comfort to be found even in the most 
desirable billets. Some men in fact asked permission to pitch 
their shelter tents instead of making use of the hospitality of 
the natives. 

The first day was spent in a thorough police of personnel 
and equipment, and the men refreshed themselves by bathing 
in the picturesque little stream which ran around the edge of 
the village. 

Supply Train Headquarters were established in an old 
chateau which it was said had at one time been a part of one 
of the summer places of Napoleon I. It was a quaint place 
at the edge of a beautiful park. 

39 



Across a large courtyard were the Headquarters of the 
314th Military Police under command of Major Smallwood, 
who still had with him, a number of officers who had been as- 
sociated with officers and personnel of the train in the opera- 
tion of the Military Police Guard at Funston. They were 
Captains Coyne, Towle and Montgomery, and Lieutenants Hach- 
man, Patton, Haigh, Runyan and McClanahan. 

Immediately began again the completion of all equipment 
of the train, in addition, the new articles of equipment, gas 
masks and helmets being issued to all. At the same time all of- 
ficers' trunk lockers and men's barrack bags were collected 
and sent back to Gievres, France, to a store-house there so 
that no excess baggage would be carried into the line. 

The second day after the arrival in Rimaucourt, Captain 
Cole who had assumed the duties of Motor Transport Officer 
for the Division in addition to his duties as Commanding Of- 
ficer of the Supply Train, was issued 150 trucks for the Supply 
Train. In this group of trucks there were some of almost all 
makes — Springfields, Velies, Garfords, Nash-Quads, F. W. D's, 
Federals, G. M. C's and Fords; and of all these trucks not one 
had seen less than six months service at the front and some had 
seen as much as four years' service. 

It is interesting to note in this connection that during the 
ensuing months of gruelling service before the Armistice con- 
cluded the war, not one truck assigned to the Supply Train 
was salvaged except in the case of those trucks on which 
enemy artillery made direct hits, and even these which had 
been practically destroyed by high explosives were found valu- 
able for the spare parts which were used in the repair of other 
trucks. A large percentage of the trucks, it is true, by that 
time were shrapnel spattered from radiator to tailgate, but al- 
most all were still serviceable and in use. 

Now came six days of tremendous labor for the Supply 
Train with an achievement which on the initial entrance of 
the 89th Division into the line served to distinguish it from all 
other divisions of the American Expeditionary Forces. Up un- 
til the time the 89th Division started into the line on August 
3rd, every American Division had been moved into the line 
from the rear areas for the most part by French transportation. 

Probably it was efficiency which the Division had shown in 
the training area about Rimaucourt which prompted General 
Headquarters to give the Division the opportunity to execute 
its own movement into the line, or possibly the psychological 
moment for the test had come. At any rate, in those first two 
days of August was delegated to Captain Cole the task of co- 
ordinating and systematizing the movement of the Division into 
the trenches by truck. 

The first instructions were received by Captain Cole at a 
conference of the Division Staff at Reynel, France. At that 
time Colonel Charles Kilbourne (now Brigadier General Kil- 
bourne) was Chief of Staff, and the three G's, G-1, G-2 and G-3, 
were functioning in similar fashion to the British system. 
Colonel Charles B. Clark was then G-1 and Colonel Warren 
Whitside was Acting Commander of Divisional Trains. 

The preliminary arrangements for the movement had been 
drawn up by Major James Franklin, Division Signal Officer, but 
on the day of the actual commencement of the movement, August 

40 



3, 1918, the entire operation was placed in the hands of 
Captain Cole. 

The movement of 30,000 men with all their equipment a 
distance of about 50 miles would probably not seem to the 
average civilian who had never attempted to accomplish it a 
big problem; but when that movement depended on transporta- 
tion of all varieties and in all conditions, with drivers of vary- 
ing degrees of experience, and the ultimate destination of all 
organizations was the trench-area, then the hugeness of the 
problem begins to be apparent. 

For the movement about 300 trucks with necessary person- 
nel were attached to the Supply Train from the 1st and 92nd 
Divisions and from the Dijon and Langres Motor Reception 
Parks. The officers who had come in charge of these convoys 
reported to Captain Cole for final instructions on the night of 
August 2, 1918, at the Dispatching-Office in Rimaucourt, France. 

Although the Table of Organizations takes no cognizance of 
a Dispatching Office in a Supply Train, Captain Cole had at 
once se*en the necessity of such an office as a distinct and 
separate part of the Headquarters Office; and in the field from 
that time on it was always a very important part of the working 
machinery of the train. 

Lieutenant Ledford had been put on special duty with 
Headquarters as Dispatching Officer and in addition had the 
services of Sergeant W. P. H. Turner of the Headquarters De- 
tachment. 

It was in the Dispatching Office near the Railhead at Rimau- 
court, France, that the conference of Officers was held, and 
all problems thrashed out during the movement of the Division. 

A serious problem faced the Division on August 2nd, which 
later from time to time threatened the very functioning of the 
Division — a shortage of gasoline. From that night the problem 
of obtaining gasoline for the Division was handled by the Sup- 
ply Train, and at many times the gasoline problem which faced 
Captain Cole was as serious a problem as any that faced the 
Division. 

On the night of August 2nd, the Division had but 500 gal- 
lons of gasoline, whereas a conservative estimate placed its 
necessities on the move at about 60,000 gallons. This shortage 
which if it had not been immediately remedied, would have 
wrecked the plans for the move before the beginning, was ex- 
peditiously made up by Captain Cole, when he sent a convoy of 
trucks for gasoline to Is-Sur-Tille, France, the regulating sta- 
tion. This convoy returned early on the morning of the 3rd 
of August, in time to make possible the first troop movement. 
Without delay the Advance Billeting Parties from all organiza- 
tions started very early in the morning of August 3rd, so that 
the coming of the Division might be prepared for. 

The movement proper was executed in three echelons — 
on August 3rd, 5th and 7th; three convoys of more than 100 
trucks each and many machine gun trucks and ambulances, in 
addition starting out on each of those days at 9:00 A. M., 10 A. 
M. and 11:00 A. M.. respectively, with directions to report to the 
regulating station just outside of Toul. Here each convoy was 
broken up according to the organizations from which the men 
on the trucks came, each Division organization having its guides 
waitirg at this point to pilot the trucks on to the towns in 

41 



which the organizations were to be billeted. Colonel Whitside 
was in charge of the Regulating Station. 

The convoy leaders had been directed at the conference on 
the night of August 2nd, to distribute their trucks according to 
a definite schedule, among the various small towns in which 
the organizations were billeted, and, after there loading the men 
and equipment to report to Liffol-le-Grande which was made the 
starting point of all convoys. 

The first movement on August 3rd was accomplished ex- 
peditiously, and without any interruption in the schedule what- 
ever. August 4th was used for the reorganization of convoys 
and the return of all trucks to the Reynel area. It has been 
said with much truth that the reorganization of convoys and the 
return of all trucks each day in a huge movement of this sort 
is more difficult than the actual accomplishment of the various 
echelons of the move. To avoid delay in the return of this great 
amount of transportation to the proper point, and to prevent 
confusion in the minds of the individual drivers who might have 
been detached from their original convoys, all available officers 
in the Supply Train were, during that time kept busy night and 
day checking up on transportation, and seeing that it was 
"rolling." 

In addition a representative of Captain Cole was always 
stationed at Liffol-le-Grande to give directions as to the dis- 
position of trucks which had not received movement orders. 

To provide against all emergencies in the move, Captain 
Cole organized six wrecking crews from Supply Train person- 
nel under the general supervision of Sergeant Pinckney, and 
these crews were on the road day and night during the whole 
of the move keeping the huge amount of transportation in opera- 
tion. 

On the night of August 4, 1918, the convoy leaders once more 
assembled in the Dispatching Office at Rimaucourt and re- 
ceived orders as to their distribution for the second day's move, 
which was handled as efficiently as had been the movement 
of the first day. 

August 6th was used again for reorganization and that 
night for a conference of convoy leaders as to the last phases 
of the movement which was to be concluded the next day. 

In that last move one of the convoys alone had 25 truck 
loads of rifle ammunition to be carried to the infantry. 

The night of August 7, 1918, with the movement of the 
Supply Train into Menil-la-Tour, found the entire Division com- 
pletely moved into the New Sector, a large percentage of the 
sector front already taken over by our "dough-boys" and Di- 
vision Headquarters established in the little town of Lucey, 
France. Our transportation had also assisted in moving out of 
the trenches the men of the 82nd American Division which the 
89th had relieved. 

Four and one-half months later the Division Commander, 
in Division General Order No. 108, summing up the achieve- 
ments of the 89th Division, on the occasion of the issuance 
of orders entitling a large percentage of the Division to wear 
their first chevron for service in the Zone of the Advance said: 

"The Division came into the most momentous six months 
of the war, and its record has been an enviable one. In the 
training area it convinced higher authority of its ability to enter 

42 



the line as a Division — the first National Army Division to do 
so. It was the first American Division to move by bus, with 
American transportation, and the entire movement was organ- 
ized and executed by the Division." 

And there is no question that the movement was entirely 
a success from beginning to end. Those huge convoys extend- 
ing over miles of French road rolled on from Liffol-le-Grande 
through Neufchateau on past the canals at Toul to the regulat- 
ing station and were there expeditiously re-dispatched, bear- 
ing their singing, happy cargo of "dough-boys" who were go- 
ing to the trenches for the first time, many never to come away 
from the line. 

For most of those men it was the first time under shell- 
fire; it was the first time they had heard the rumbling of hostile 
artillery but a few miles away; it was the first time they had 
seen the observation balloons floating above as they lazily 
watched the enemy beyond those dark lines which marked the 
trenches; and those nights were the first they had seen the 
beauties of the star-shells and flares, and had heard the ominous 
purring of the bomb-laden Boche planes as they circled above. 

On the night of August 7, 1918, the Supply Train established 
its headquarters in Menil-la-Tour, France, the men billeted in 
old barracks, for the most part, although some for the first few 
days had to make use of their shelter tents. It was the first 
sleep many of the drivers had had in four days, and thoughtless 
of the enemy a few miles away and mindless of the many 
wonderful sights which were there to behold in the night, all 
slept until another day of duty dawned before them. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
PREPARATION FOR THE PUSH. 

The Division, now well settled in the new area which ex- 
tended on a front from Limey to Flirey, a task loomed before 
the Supply Train which was probably as large as any that any 
similar organization had ever been called on to meet. Practically 
that task was to furnish all transportation for the entire Di- 
vision in preparation for the great drive which was to make 
Gettysburg and Bull Run seem like a school-yard row in com- 
parison. 

The Sanitary Train was practically without transporta- 
tion; the Engineer Train had none; and but a low percentage 
of the Ammunition Train had even come up with the Division. 
The result was that the combined functions of all these organiza- 
tions had to be assumed by the Supply Train, and the work of 
a single night on the St. Mihiel front would find convoys of the 
train carrying barbed wire to the trenches for the use of the 
"dough-boys" in making wire entanglements, rock to the Engin- 
eers to repair stretches of road which enemy shell-fire, or con- 
stant use and rain had rendered unfit; reliefs of troops in and 
out of the trenches; rations up to regimental dumps or to the 
Company kitchens, and again the hot food from the Company 
kitchens to the "dough-boys" in the trenches; and ammunition 
up to the batteries of the 113th, 114th and 115th Field Artilleries 
which were supporting the Division. 

This meant days of toil and sleepless nights for the men 
on the trucks, work over shelled roads, through gas and some- 
times even in the face of machine gun fire. But every one of 
those truck drivers had at once shown in the face of necessity 
he w^as almost indefatigable, that the work he was able to do 
was only limited by his personal man-power. 

One incident which served to instill even more of a spirit 
of determination in the minds of every man in the train than 
had been there before occurred just as the train was assuming 
its hardest duties. The first night our Infantry had taken over 
that portion of the front, in fact while the relief was being 
made, the Boche concentrated gas shells on our sector, especially 
about Flirey — and hundreds of men in the 355th and 356th In- 
fantries were gassed. The news was almost stunning. A large 
percentage of one battalion of the 355th Infantry was put out 
of action in this way and the roads were crowded with ambu- 
lances carrying these men back to hospitals cruelly and pain- 
fully wounded, many to the death. 

But this incident instead of inspiring fear in the minds of 
the rest of the Division made every man anxious for the day 

45 



of reckoning which he knew would come. Many Supply Train 
men were in the gassed area, although none were affected by 
it. But their "dough-boys" had in the first days of fighting re- 
ceived the brunt of this method of warfare initiated by the 
Boche, and every man knew that from that moment no physical 
effort would be too much to attempt in pushing back that 
gray army beyond our trenches on, on to defeat. 

Gas at its best is a weird and fearful weapon which the 
Boche used more in the hope that it would destroy morale 
than because of the casualties he might cause. But to the 
truck driver it presented often an actual obstacle aside from 
the danger involved, when it was necessary to drive the huge, 
unwieldly trucks on bad roads through gas-field areas, wearing 
the gas mask. 

The first problem that presented itself to the train in 
Menil-la-Tour was the disposition of trucks which were not in 
use, so that they would not draw artillery fire. On the night 
of August 71 h. Captain Cole ordered that the trucks be parked 
in column along the road leading from Toul to Menil-la-Tour, 
and beyond Menil-la-Tour on the road leading to Royaumeix. 
The trucks taking advantage of all natural cover, were parked 
in groups of not more than three with a distance of at least 15 
yards between groups. This made the question of dispatching 
them a difficult one, as the small percentage of the train which 
was in park at any one time would extend over a distance of 
several miles. 

The most careful handling of the trucks was proved futile 
from the standpoint of hiding them from the watchful eyes of 
the Boche aerial observation when on the third night in Menil- 
la-Tour a Boche plane dropped two bombs within a few hundred 
yards of "C" Company's trucks lined along the road to 
Royaumeix. 

Even before this incident Captain Cole had been investigat- 
ing the entire area of the Division with a view to finding, if 
possible, natural cover, or some town in which trucks with 
proper camouflage might be made safe. 

The search proved futile, but Captain Cole decided that 
by cutting a series of winding pockets in the woods called the 
Bois-de-Minorville, natural protection could be obtained which 
would defy Boche observation. 

The afternoon of August 15th, Companies "D," "E" and 
"F " moved into the Bois-de-Minorville and began the construc- 
tion of pocket parks which would conceal the trucks within 
them. A little shed at the edge of the wood had been decided 
on as the Headquarters Office. By the 16th they were com- 
fortably settled in the wood, although the men were sleeping in 
trucks, anjA the work of rocking the park foundations for the 
heavy trucks had hardly been started. 

That day Companies "A," "B" and "C" moved into the 
Bois-de-Lagney where there was more clearance and more chance 
to develop suitable parking places than in the Bois-de-Minor- 
ville. That same night the Boche bombers, or as they were al- 
ready familiarly known, the "Jerries" and "Fritzes" showed by 
their maneuvers that the movement into the Bois-de-Minor- 
ville had not been unnoticed. As a result the Division Com- 
mander ordered Companies "D," "E" and "F" out of the Bois- 
de-Minorville the next day and they joined the rest of the train 

46 



in the Bois-de-Lagney, Headquarters remaining in Menil-la-Tour 
in the deserted French offices near the railhead. 

The move out of tlie dangerous Bois-de-Minorville had been 
accomplished without its detection by the Boche, as but one 
truck was sent out every ten minutes direct to the Bois-de- 
Lagney. While the train was beginning to orient itself in "Hazel 
Nut" as the Bois-de-Lagney at once became familiarly known, 
a rather big problem was developing which was threatening 
the very functioning of the Division. The motor transportation 
of the Division which even at the time it had first been re- 
ceived in Rimaucourt was in very bad condition, now, because 
there were hardly any spare parts to be had began to drop into 
the unserviceable class despite the hardest efforts of the Com- 
pany mechanics, handicapped in their work by the lack of 
tools. 

The situation was becoming extremely acute when on the 
15th of August the Division Commander directed Captain Cole 
to establish a Division Machine Shop which would be able to 
take care of the repairs for the transportation of the entire 
Division. At its best, with complete shop equipment at hand, 
the organization of so large a machine shop would be a big 
problem; but in addition to the ordinary difficulties of the 
situation there was an absolute lack of equipment and tools to 
be contended with. 

Captain Cole relieved Lieutenant G. W. Bottorff from duty 
with Company "E," placing him on special duty in command of 
the Machine Shop, and gave him 40 men of mechanical ex- 
perience from the Supply Train to establish the shop. The place 
chosen was a cleared elevation a few hundred yards in back 
of the edge of Menil-la-Tour where three Adrian barracks had 
been built by the French. The on^y other natural advantage 
to the place was a fairly good road which branched from the Toul 
road up and around the elevation. The place was easily within 
range of the Boche artillery, but fortunately was never the 
target of hostile fire. 

How all the equipment and tools necessary for the opera- 
tion of that shop were ever made or salvaged within the next 
five days will ever remain a mystery alone explainable by the 
men who were on duty with the shop, but it is enough to say 
that by August 20th, the shop was doing a general over-haul 
work and making repairs for the entire Division. 

On this very date a transition was occurring of which few 
knew at the time, but which is of high historical interest to 
those in the Division who now look back upon it. 

Up to this time, since the arrival at the front, the Division 
had been operating as a part of the 32nd Army Corps (French). 
On this date the French Corps Commander issued the following 
order: 

32nd Army Corps 
Headquarters 
Third Bureau 
General Order August 20, 1918. 

No. 142. 

The command of the sector of Lucey will be taken over 
today (August 20th) at 3:00 P. M., by General Dickman, com- 
manding the 4th Army Corps, United States Army, the Head- 
quarters of which will be at Toul. 

47 



Upon relinquishing command of this sector, the General 
Commanding the 32nd Corps of the French Army, wishes to 
congratulate the 89th Division, U. S. A., upon the discipline, its 
spirit and its determination, all of which surely guarantee 
laurels soon to be gained by this fine Division, under the dis- 
tinguished command of its chief. General Winn. 

General PASSAGA 
Commanding the 32nd Army Corps. 
(Signed) PASSAGA. 

About this date a wise plan suggested by Captain Cole had 
been adopted and was being carried out in the Corps. It was 
a standardization of motor transportation within each Division 
so that the repair and supply of spare parts for all transporta- 
tion might be facilitated. In this readjustment the train re- 
tained all its Packard trucks, transferring all sixteen other vari- 
eties to other divisions. 

Some small changes in the personnel of the train had oc- 
curred since its arrival in the Toul Sector. Lieutenant Logan 
F. Hachman, formerly Supply Officer of the 314th Military 
Police had been transferred to the Supply Train to replace 
Lieutenant Mulheron in Company "B" who had been left behind 
at Camp Mills to take command of casuals who would later on 
be sent to the Division. Lieutenant Clyde W. Scogin replaced 
Lieutenant Grover Turner as Dental Surgeon for the train, 
Lieutenant Turner having been transferred out of the train 
shortly after its arrival in France. In addition Supply Sergeant 
A. Chouteau had received a commission and was replaced by 
Sergeant Stanley Epstein. 

Colonel Warren W. Whitside on the arrival in the Toul 
Sector had been made Commander of 314th Trains and Military 
Police and had also established his headquarters in Menil-la- 
Tour. 

But the work of the truck drivers during all this time and 
also during the next few weeks was never allowed to grow 
monotonous. They continued to haul every sort of war material 
over areas extending from Toul to the front line trenches. As 
the day set for the big push came nearer, the traffic on the 
roads became heavier and heavier; struggles with the Military 
Police and with the "frog" truck drivers, as they had affection- 
ately dubbed the French poilus, to get important convoys through 
to destination in spite of them, became more and more frequent. 
Continuous rains toward the end of August softened and 
slickened all roads until they were almost impassable. Such 
roads as that between Bernecourt and Flirey, familiarly known 
as "Dead Man's Curve" because it was visible to the Boche 
along the entire stretch, had formerly meant nothing but a 
sporting run for the driver, giving a touch of excitement to the 
evening work. But now with the possibility of his truck slid- 
ing off the crown of the road into the ditching at the side, there 
to possibly await the result of the Boche's scrutiny in the 
morning, these trips lost their charm. 

During these days the drivers developed abilities of vision 
which they themselves, looking back upon the work they did, 
realize were almost uncanny. No trace of a light was allowed 
on any vehicle because this would play right into the hand of 
the enemy; but, yet, no matter how black the night and the 
road, no matter how thick the mist which no artificial light 

48 



could have penetrated, the trucks rolled on and on, kept the. 
road, avoiding collisions by intuitively feeling the approach of 
a vehicle rather than seeing it, and arrived at their destination 
on time. 

Most of their work was done at night and the accompani- 
ment to the steady hum of their motors were the crash of enemy 
artillery and the uneven purring of the Boche aeroplanes above, 
ready at any moment to drop their cargo of bombs, or as the 
truck drivers soon came to call it, "let down their tailgates." 

But the sound of the Boche planes became so familiar 
that before long a knock or a miss in the usual steady hum of 
his motor, caused the truck driver much more concern than the 
purrirg of the enemy motors above, no matter how. thick the 
sky was with flaring burst of shrapnel, as the French anti-air- 
craft artillery tried to seek out the enemy. 

On August 27th, Corporal Leon Delaitre was attached to 
the train by the French Mission as a French interpreter, and 
from that time on until he left the train after its arrival in 
Germany his services were almost invaluable. 

On August 28th, we saw our first baroon fall, and un- 
fortunately it was American. It was an observation balloon 
which we had watched lazily floating above the Forest-de-la- 
Reine behind Raulecourt for several weeks. On several oc- 
casions before we had seen Boche planes maneuvering above 
their lines waiting for a chance to slip across and pounce upon 
the balloon, but they had never been successful. It was not 
quite ten o'clock in the morning when some enemy aviator 
more ambitious and braver than the rest, came across the lines 
at a tremendous height and the^e in a dizzying descent pounced 
straight toward the balloon, firing incendiary bullets into it as 
he came; then gracefully straightening out sped back across the 
lines in a shower of machine gun bullets. 

It was a scene oft repeated thereafter as we saw numerous 
balloons both American and Boche drop, in the succeeding 
months on the front; but on no other occasion did it give us 
the thrill it did as we saw the first balloon falling. The bal- 
loon went up in flames, but the pilot and his observer escaped 
destruction by dropping out of the basket in their parachutes. 
The next day a rumor spread over the Divisional area that 
a German ki^e balloon had dropped a note of warning to the 
civilian population some few of whom had remained in the towns 
in our trench area, that all women and children should be sent 
back 14 miles behind the lines or suffer the consequences. At 
any rate, early the next morning began an exodus of all civilians, 
taking their household goods with them to the area back of 
Toul. It seemed that they realized that a real storm was brew- 
ing on I his front which up to this time had been known as a 
quiet sector. 

In any event, whether such a message was ever sent by the 
Boche, or whether such a threat was ever made, he attempted to 
make good with a vengeance that same afternoon. 

A huge French ammun'tion dump was located about three- 
fourths of a mile from Menil-la-Tour on the Flirey road. 
American and French authorities had agreed that it should be 
turned over to the 89th Division Ordinance Officer at 4:00 
o'clock that afternoon. At exactly 2:00 o'clock (for the Boche 
artillery was always methodical and precise) a sinister whistl- 

49 



ing sound, whxli everyone in the Supply Train was familiar 
with by this time, was heard coming from the German lines 
towards Menil-la-Tour; then a great upheaval of earth about 
50 yards from the ammunition dump, and then a loud crash 
and explosion. A few seconds later this sound which seems 
like nothing else so much as the whistling of the wintry wind 
was heard again, and this time the shell crashed about 50 yards 
on the other side of the dump. The third shell that the Boche 
artillery sent over crashed right into the center of the dump 
and then followed such an intensity of noise as no man in the 
Supply Train had ever heard before. Earth and rocks shot into 
the air, and the very buildings for miles around quaked. The 
shells in the dump continued to explode all night during which 
time no transportation could be routed over that road to Fiirey. 

"Hazel Nut" in the Bois-de-Lagney was proving in those 
days of August and early September before the "drive" to be 
an ideal camp. Tlie men were in shelter tents, and their beds 
were green boughs. The ration was very good, and the kitchens 
had enough time to establish themselves under tarpaulins with 
many conveniences. The combination guard-house and Dis- 
patching office was in the little shack at the fork in the road 
in the woods. 

Withal, the place was interesting, too, for there were 
trenches winding through the woods, emplacements for big guns 
here and there, and observation platforms built in trees from 
which a view of the entire surrounding country could be ob- 
tained. 

It was the scene of an interesting ceremony on the night 
of September 2nd when Captain Cole received the order an- 
nouncing his promotion to a Majority, and Lieutenant Upp his 
promotion to a First Lieutenancy. On receipt of the order they 
went together to the woods, and were sworn in to their new rank 
by Captain McGee, Summary Court Officer for the train. 

The next day Lieutenant A. J. Eiskant in command of Motor 
Shop Truck Unit 390 reported to Major Cole for duty, being 
attached to the Supply Train to handle repairs for Division 
transportation. Gradually this unit was allowed to take over 
the work which the Supply Train shop had, in the emergency 
temporarily assumed, and the greater percentage of Supply Train 
personnel was returned to duty with the companies. 

During those last days before the St. Mihiel Drive at a time 
when no one was certain as to just when the advance would 
begin, the Supply Train toiled as it had never toiled before, 
that none of the many important details of preparation which 
depended on it should fail. 

One battery located in a wood to which no ammunition had 
been brought for four days because of the impassability of 
roads, was supplied with ammunition just in time to enable it 
to function in the drive, by Captain Pusch with a large convoy 
from Company "F." And so it went with the other important 
details. 

The night of September 11, 1918, found the Division ready 
and waiting for the sound of the firing of the first artillery 
piece which was to announce the commencement of the "Big 
Push." The Division was now under the command of Major- 
General William Wright, who on Sept. 6 had relieved Brigadier- 
General Winn of the command. 

. 50 




Sector Beyond Flirey. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE ST. MIHIEL DRIVE. 



On the historic night of September 11th, there crouched m 
the trenches awaiting the order to go over the top, all flo^g the 
front occupied by the First American Army the greatest body 
of troops that the United States up to that time had ever sent 

^^""'on thTsector'^occupied by the 89th Division a large percent- 
age of these troops had been carried into position by trucks 
just after dusk that evening and set down in the trenches from 
which the advance was to be started early the next moimmg. 
Convoys in command of Captains Pusch, McGee and Dickey 
were all on troop movements that night, bringing dough-boys 
up from reserve and support and moving others from the widely 
extended front of 16 kilometers which the 89th had been hold- 
ing to the much contracted sector over which our troops were 
to i)egin the drive. One of the objectives in the sector laid out 
for the advance of the 89th Division was the key to the enemy s 
position, the Bois-de-Mort Mare. 

All of that afternoon and night there was a heavy down- 
pour of rain which successfully hid from the Boche, complacently 
resting in his own lines, this greatly increased activity m ours. 
But these same weather conditions made traffic, especially 
traffic of the magnitude that had to go over our Divisional Axial 
roads, a tremendous problem. Frequently that night important 
convoys found themselves apparently inextricably tied up m 
dense traffic on that good road between Menil-la-Tour and 
Flirey; but somehow the traffic was kept moving. 

Shortly after dusk a convoy of 40 trucks loaded with ra- 
tions had lined up on the Noviant-Flirey road ready to follow 
the dough-boys over the top and establish a new ration dump 
somewhere far in what was now Boche territory; so that the 
supply of food would never be interrupted. 

These trucks and the others lined up along the Beaumont- 
Bernecourt road waiting for their wild joy-ride over what was 
then No Man's Land, had seen hundreds of French seventy -fives 
and bigger guns bristling all along the roads and pointing their 
muzzles Bocheward right over the tops of the trucks. 

Except for the patter of the rain, the rumbling of trucks 
and the low whispers of men lying waiting in the trenches, the 
night had been exceptionally quiet. There was hardly an exchange 
of shells between early afternoon of September 11th and 1:00 
A M of the 12th. There had been no Boche bombing parties 
over at all that night for their usual evening aerial raids on 



53 



Toul. The rain had made that impossible, and their balloons 
had not been in the air that day at all. 

The only evidence that there was an enemy opposite us 
who would attempt to hold that ground was the frequent ap- 
pearance of star shells sailing up from the enemy trenches, and 
now and then a bright flare by which the nervous Boche hoped 
to reassure himself that no raiding party was in front of his 
trenches ready to spring in on top of him. 

Somehow every man in the Division realized that what he 
had awaited ever since he had come to the front would begin 
shortly after midnight, and from 12 o'clock on, anxious groups 
all over the divisional area watched for the first signal which 
would break the oppressive silence. 

At exactly 1:00 A. M. of September 12th, a huge naval gun 
sitting at the side of the road in Bernecourt belched forth its 
missile with a terrific explosion that half lifted the truck driv- 
ers and the cargoes of dough-boys they were carrying along the 
road, into the air. 

For a moment following that single earrending reverbera- 
tion there was again a deadly silence — but it was for a moment 
only, and it was the silence which precipitated the storm. 
Crash — Crash! — all along the roads, from the woods and from 
the towns, the closely massed seventy-fives began to speak out 
in a continuous rattle, which had it not been for its intensity 
could have been mistaken for the firing of machine guns. A 
continuous burst of fiame spouting from the mouths of innumer- 
able field pieces all along the American front reddened the dis- 
mal sky. That, line of fire extended as far as the eye could 
see. 

But why was the Boche not retaliating? From the com- 
mencement of the American bombardment, but a negligible 
number of Boche shells had whistled into the American line^ 
What was wrong with Montsec? Montsec, that green hill be- 
hind the Boche lines had sat like an ogre off there to the left 
of Beaumont and Seicheprey. Imagination had armed it in our 
minds with countless field pieces and machine guns which would 
begin to take their toll at the commencement of our barrage. 
Many a man during the comparatively quiet early days of 
September had sat in a forward position and looked through 
field glasses at Montsec, believing that he saw huge artillery 
pieces in concrete emplacements all over the sides of the hill. 

It has later been stated that our aviators had informed 
Corps Headquarters (located then about one mile in back of 
Menil-la-Tour) that Montsec was harmless and not prepared as 
a defensive position. But the men of the Division knew nothing 
of this, and rumors of what numbers the French had lost in 
several attempts to take Montsec in the four years the Germans 
had held it, had made our dough-boys think a hard fight could 
be expected there. 

The barrage continued incessantly all night until 5:00 A. 
M. September 12th, when it was concentrated in front of our 
trenches to produce a rolling, advancing barrage behind which 
our dough-boys might advance. Promptly at 5:00 A. M. as the 
barrage went forward, the Infantry and Machine Gunners came 
up out of the trenches after it over No Man's Land, the former 
scene of so many raiding parties by our Infantry. Some of the 
men were unloaded from the trucks in Flirey in formation of 

54 



the advance going over the top immediately after being un- 
loaded. 

It was at once apparent because of the remarkable advance 
of the Division that not only would all objectives be attained, 
but the program laid out for the Division would be completed 
much sooner than the schedule had required. Early in the 
morning strings of German prisoners were coming back over 
the roads under Military Police guard, others were struggling 
along the by-roads anxiously searching for someone to sur- 
render to. 

Here and there in front of towns, along the Rupt-de-Mad 
and in front of thick woods where machine gun nests had 
been placed to retard the Division's advance, many of the troops 
became casualties; but the Boche casualties were high too. 

At 10:00 o'clock in) the morning the 40 ration trucks began 
the pursuit of the Infantry and that afternoon had brought rations 
up to Bouillonville which the night before had been over seven 
kilometers inside the Boche lines. By this time the dough-boys, 
converging regiments of which had in the afternoon, met near 
Bouillonville, the entire area behind cleaned up, were continu- 
ing the advance and had taken> Thiaucourt. 

That day was a busy one for every man in the train as con- 
voys v/ere working on every sort of detail over the entire area 
of the newly gained territory. Some individual trucks were 
pressed into emergency service hauling wounded and dead; 
but as a general thing all efforts were bent on aiding the 
progress of that rapidly advancing line in front — by supplying 
it with ammunition, food and engineer material for the repair 
of roads and hasty construction of new trenches. 

The road between Flirey and Essey, a vital stretch of road 
in the support of the advance was found to be absolutely unusable 
because since the beginning of the war it had been in No Man's 
Land and the continuous shell-fire had torn and twisted it to 
its foundations. But the engineers were busy on the road the 
first day, assisted by Supply Train transportation, and this im- 
portant link in the move forward was connected up at once. 

That night the Division dug in in front of the Hindenburg 
line beyond Thiaucourt, took over the area Avhich the 42nd Di- 
vision had gained on the left and half of the sector of the 
78th Division on the right, and the next day a ration dump and 
Supply Train gasoline station were established in Bouillonville. 

That same day Division Headquarters were moved up from 
Lrucey to Euvezin. There everything was found as if the German 
Division opposing us had expec+ed to rest all winter in the 
same position. Great stocks of clothing and foods were there — 
the mess table of the Commanding General of the opposing Di- 
vision being set for the morn-ing breakfast which he never ate 
in Euvezin. The German officers had left their trunks filled 
with luxuries which would indicate that they had expected to 
take up a permanent residence in the town, and souvenirs there 
were in abundance. 

In the meantime while the reorganization of the Divisional 
area had been going on, convoys and individual truck driversi 
had been having experiences many of which were proving quite 
interesting. Probably the strangest of these was the experience 
of Corporal Anton Pavelka and Private 1st Class Ellery L. 
Pearson, both of Company "D," driving Truck No. 49356. They 

55 



had been on detail with the 353rd Infantry Regiment since be- 
fore the beginning of the drive. 

On the afternoon of September 13th Corporal Pavelka re- 
ceived an order to take a truck load of medical supplies into 
Xammes. As he rolled through Thiaucourt, on the road to 
Xammes, Military Police, and dough-boys who were in reserve 
there, warned him against going any farther, saying that the 
front line of our Infantry was fighting not far in front of 
Thiaucourt. But he had received the order and was determined 
to comply with it. Continuing on his mission which was now 
becoming extremely perilous because of machine gun and rifle 
bullets, and the bursting of shrapnel overhead, he entered the 
town. But he did not remain in Xammes long. 

When he came into the town he realized that the line of 
dough-boys which he had seen at the edge of the town had been 
our front line, and that the Boche was still in possession of 
Xammes itself. Possibly it was because they feared some sort 
of ruse, but the Boche, with the exception of firing a few rifle 
bullets at him made no attempt to molest him as they retreated 
before our Infantry. He calmly backed his huge truck around 
in the main street of Xammes, turned on the road back to 
Thiaucourt and was on his v/ay to our l^nes. 

As far as the records of train show Truck No. 49356 was the 
only one which ever operated as a Tank, and this advance 
ahead of the Infantry was what might be described as a tactical 
error. 

On September 14th, the train with the exception of Company 
' B" moved to Grosrouvres, although Headquarters remained in 
Menil-la-Tour for several days. At about this time plans were 
made for a movement of the train to Pannes but as it was 
thought the Division would be sent back into a rest area soon, 
this idea was abandoned. 

A general impression of the work of the men of the train 
during the weeks that followed before we left the St. Mihiel 
front can be gained from the story of Corporal Carl A. Anderson, 
told with reference to the work of a detachment of Company 
"F" during the week following September 20-1 h. It is a story 
replete with interest especially because it shows the normal 
work of every truck driver during this time. The story follows: 

"We had been on the road, hard at work, through days and 
nights full of hard work, with our nerves keyed up to the 
highest pitch, and our heads swimming and eyes burning from 
gazing at the dark and narrow roads ahead. The Boche aero- 
planes and big guns had bombed us and shelled us in every 
little town and on every road. 

"We had delivered twenty truck loads of ammunition to 
a battery in the woods near Bouillonville and we were looking 
forward t:«' a few hours of rest; but scarcely had we come into 
camp at Grosrouvres when an order came in dispatching us 
out again. 

"I was sent in charge of a convoy of five trucks with 
Corporals Nelson, Eckhard, V/iriam-s. Johanpen and L'n-iqiist 
as drivers to report to an infantry officer at Bouillonville for 
the relief of troops. The rain had been heavy during the day 
and the roads were slippery. As we rolled through Essey the 
Boche seemed to have our address, throwing over his hate all 

56 



along the left and right of the road, the big shells kicking up 

"^'"^ '^^s^'wrc^ne to Bouillonville at 6:00 P. M., the Boche was 
still continuing his wasteful tactics, so we pulled our trucks up 
behind a high embankment where it would be hard for him to 
search us out, while I went to find the Lieutenant. finally 
found his quarters in a small dug-out, and knocked on the door 
but did not wait for an invitation to come m when I heard 
the whiz and bang of a shell which sprinkled rocks on the 

^^^"?ThrLieutenant ordered us to wait until dark, offering me 
a chair in which I was asleep, in a few minutes. The next 
thing I knew was when I was awakened by some one shaking 
me Ind saying 'let's go!' It was pitch dark outside and the 
Boche shells were still raining in. Their aeroplanes were hum- 
ming overhead and our anti-aircraft guns were makmg it as 
unpleasant for them as possible. • .u^ x^^a^ nf 

"We woke the drivers who were sleeping m the beds of 
their trucks and snoring as peacefully as if they were back 
home in their own feather-beds. They slid out of their trucks 
to crank up, cursing the rain, the Kaiser and his whole army 
and we were off for Xammes to move some troops from there 
to Pannes. In Xammes the B6che was passing the time away by 
throwing over a continuous stream of shells— gas, shrapnel and 
high exp^osives. First we would hear the whiz and then-crash 
-^some old building would crumble in a heap. The Germans 
were throwing up so many flares that it was almost as light 
as day in Xammes. 

"My trucks were loaded at last, and out of town we went 
the shells hitting too close to the road to be comfortable and 
sprinkling rocks and dirt on the trucks as we roPed along. 
The road itself was full of shell-holes and more were being 
made every minute; but we had to stop our trucks on the side 
of\ the road, lie in the ditching ourselves, and await the arrival 
of the men from the trenches. 

"We waited from 9:00 P. M. until 4:00 A. M. the next 
morning In the middle of the night the rain ceased, the clouds 
cleared awav, and the moon came out in all its splendor. But 
all we had to hide our trucks were two lonely trees a^ong the 
road, and the German flares made the night bright enough to 
read the numbers on the trucks 40 feet away. We could hear 
the Boche shells whistling over us searching out a battery 
farther back. Now and then this battery would retaliate with 
a crash that brought us to our feet. 

"On our left an endless string of silent men were quietly 
moving toward the trenches through barbed wire entangle- 
ments and shell-holes. So quietly did they move that you 
might have thought them, ghosts going on to relieve the dough- 
boys. I stood watching the line for half an hour trymg to see 
some one I knew— when suddenly I heard a low vo:ce. Hello 
Swede! What are you doing up here with a truck— you 11 have 
it riddled with machine gun and rifle flre before you get back. 
All I had time to say was: Best of luck, Jim! And he was 
off again to the trenches from which he never came back. 

"On our right an endless stream of men were coming from 
the trenches, tired and plastered with mud, but happy as they 

57 



were going out for a short rest. So they came and went all 
night long. 

"One of our trucks passed us, turning up the road to the 
trenches; then we heard the crash of a shell. A few moments 
later the driver came back and asked us to help him from a 
shell-hole in which his truck had fallen. He said his truck was 
loaded with hand-grenades and if daylight found him there, it 
would probably be the finish of his truck. Luckily a wagoner 
came along so we borrowed his four mules, hitched them to 
the truck and after we had helped the driver unload his hand- 
grenades, got him back on the crown of the road. 

"In the meantime our men had not come out of the trenches 
and the Boche had changed his range and was shelling Pannes, 
Essey, Thiiaucourt, and all along the sides of the roads with gas 
shells. As we had been given strict orders to leave this road 
before daylight, we started for Pannes just as day began to 
break without the men from the trenches, but with light loads 
of picks, shovels and packs. .We unloaded these in Pannes and 
then started for Essey, the shells dropping all around us as 
we rolled along.^ 

"Another crash, then a spattering against the truck and 
I glanced up and saw a new hole in the road. It was a gas 
shell and I got a good taste of it before I could get my gas- 
mask on. my eyes and lips burning like fire. Several more gas- 
shells fell in quick succession, but the drivers stepped on the 
throttles and we were out of the gassed area in a few seconds. 

"Again as we came to Essey we found the hollow near it 
full of gas, but passing through the town which was rather 
quiet we came on top of a hill where the air was pure again. 
Passing through that pile of stones which was known as 'Flirey' 
before the war, we found the Boche shelling that town too, 
and then we highballed on for Grosrouvres, came into park, 
gassed up our trucks, had breakfast, and went to bed, absolutely 
unmindful of the Boche planes circling overhead. Five hours 
of sleep and we were awakened for another detail, one of the 
drivers remarking: Oh, Hell! Another night of real sport! 
And we were off again." 

So it was during all those days when the Headquarters of 
the train were at Grosrouvres. The men during those days 
literally lived on the road, carrying their rations with them 
at all times and sleeping in the bottom of their trucks when 
an interval between convoys gave them the opportunity. Just 
as before the drive, the train was used for every variety of 
detail; now the train was still hauling ammunition, supplies, 
engineer material and on occasion the wounded. 

Lieut. Pierson had been sent to Bouillonville to supervise 
the operation of Supply Train transportation from the ration 
and gasoline dump there. This place was continually subject 
to Boche shell fire, and the men working about it were con- 
stantly in danger. 

In these towns which had recently been in German hands 
the drivers immediately became familiar with the German road 
signs which directed "Nach Verdun" instead of the French 
signs: "Vers Verdun." 

And it was in this area too, that the men first came to ap- 
preciate the expression "dirty work at the cross-roads," for the 
Boche artillery opposite Xammes showed a remarkable ability in 

58 



hitting on and near the cross-roads about Bouillonville and Essey, 
until these became some of the most dangerous spo:s in the 
area. 

On September 22nd, Company "B" which had remained up 
to that time in the Bois-de-Lagney was moved up to a small 
abandoned Boche camp near Bouillonville. Here the Company 
established itself in shacks which the Boche had hurriedly left, 
and began the construction of dug-outs. The Boche Artillery 
shelled the place with gas and heavy explosive that night, so 
the work of making the dug-outs large enough for the entire 
Company in time of shelling was pushed to completion the next 
day. The place well camouflaged with trees and brush was oc- 
cupied by Company "B" the remainder of the time in the St. 
Mihiel sector. In the meantime the men stationed in Bouillon- 
ville at the ration and gasoline dump were also having an in- 
teresting time of it. 

It was in Bouillonville that Corporal Billie Belt of Company 
"B" risked his life in the brave feat that resulted in his later 
being awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. On September 
24th he was on duty as a rear lookout on a truck which v/as 
detailed to haul gasoline bedons to Bouillonville. As the truck 
entered the town it was delayed by congestion of traff c, and 
while thuL^ stopped an enemy shell struck about ten yards from 
it, being followed almost immediately by another which was a 
direct hit on a Garford truck belonging to the 314th Engineer 
Train. This shell severely wounded two men. The truck was 
loaded with gasoline bedons which began to explode, the truck 
at the same time beginning to burn. Corporal Belt rushed to 
the truck, rescued the nearest man and carried him to safety, 
and returned attempting to disentangle the second man from 
the burning wreckage, but found this impossible of achieve- 
ment. This feat was accomplished while the place was being 
hotly shelled by the Boche. 

His bravery was cited in General Orders No. 2, Headquarters 
89th Division, January 7, 1919, at the same time the announce- 
ment of the award of the Distinguished Service Cross was made. 

It was on October 6th, that the first rumor spread through- 
out the Divisional area that Germany was asking for an Arm- 
istice, and some felt for a time that the war might come to a 
hasty conclusion, especially as the Divisions of our army on 
the other front were meeting with great success in the Argonne 
Forest. But it was soon realized that the German request for 
an Armistice was not a sincere appeal. 

On October 8th, Headquarters of the Train were moved 
from Grosrouvres to Ville-Essey, near Commercy, as it was in- 
tended that the Division after two months and two, days in the 
front line should be sent into rest in the area about Commercy 
for a few weeks at least. With this end in view Division 
Headquarters had been established in Commercy. 

But suddenly a reversal of orders came which brought 
Train Headquarters back to Grosrouvres, on October 9th, in 
preparation for the move over to the Argonne Sector to join 
in the continuous battle being raged there which was proving 
early to be the most colossal struggle in the world's history 
which once and for all was destined to put an end to the peril 
of world domination by the Prussian and the personal triumph 
of the Hohenzollerns. 

59 




Sector Beiov/ Bantheville. 



CHAPTER X. 

TO THE ARGONNE-MEUSE. 

The sudden change in orders had come when Headquarters, 
the Medical Detachment and Company "B" had moved to Ville- 
Essey, and it was planned to move the rest of the train there 
the next day. This meant that the men of the train, instead 
of the two weeks of rest and recuperation which they had ex- 
pected, could look forward only to four more days of increasing 
work, and then the terrific strain of preparation for another 
drive.v 

At the time the move commenced the 89th Division was 
occupying the huge area extending from Commercy to Bouillon- 
ville. 

The transportation necessary to the replacement of our 
troops by the troops of the 37th Division in the St. Mihiel Sector 
was furnished entirely by the Supply Train; and at the same 
time the movement was beginning over to the new area. In 
this movement Supply Train transportation hauled all the rolling 
kitchens, two days reserve rations for the Division and all 
other supplies and equipment not carried by the organizations 
in their combat trains. 

The huge convoy was finally complete, and early on the 
morning of the 10th of October the Division was moving with 
all equipment to the new sector. The convoy was in command 
of Major Cole but as it was so large and unwieldy it was sub- 
divided into groups by Companies, each Company Commander 
commanding his own convoy. 

The rain had entirely stopped and as the convoy rolled on 
to Bernecourt, then to Beaumont, Rambucourt, Bouconville 
and Apremont, the trucks stretching for miles as far as the 
eye could see and twining in and out of towns, and up and 
down hills, it seemed to operate like a perfect piece of clock 
work. 

All these roads were highly camouflaged with screening of 
cane and branches to prevent artillery observation, but as the 
head of the convoy was pass'ng through the historic streets of 
St. Mihiel about noon, a lone Boche aviator flying high in the 
air above our lines spied the convoy, hovering about in the sky 
undoubtedly taking numerous photographs and then fled back 
to his own lines followed by the shrapnel which burst and 
coughed about him without effect. 

The appearance of the Boche plane was' so common a sight 
that it was nothing but a passing incident to the convoy driv- 

61 



ers, although the French poilus, gathered in the streets of 
shell-shattered St. Mihiel, would glance only for a moment at 
the black speck in the sky and then crying "Boche, Boche!" 
would run for shelter. 

Shortly after noon with the head of the convoy well out 
of St. Mihiel, a halt was ordered for a dinner of hard bread and 
canned beef. In the meantime the Boche plane had returned 
and from his height was observing the movement of the con- 
voy. He probably was in wireless communication with a battery 
of Boche Artillery for as the head of the train swung through 
Bannoncourt there was a sudden whiz and then a tremendous 
crash, and showering of stones and earth a short distance from 
a bridge over which a part of the convoy was passing at the 
time. Then suddenly another shell whizzed in still closer than 
the first. 

Tlie intent of the Boche in this incident is hard to decipher 
for just as unexpectedly as the first shells had whistled in, so 
did he mysteriously and suddenly cease his shelling without in- 
flicting any damage whatever on the convoy. Unless it is 
explained as an attempt to lower morale, such incidents are hard 
to account for in the usual methodical warfare of the German. 

To the members of the Supply Train who were near enough 
to the front of the convoy to witness the incident; probably 
one scene will stand out in their memories even more that 
the actual setting of the scene itself and the danger the convoy 
was in, and that is, the strange appearance of a sad-eyed, un- 
derfed cow which was attempting to graze on the sparse grass 
at the side of the road. That was probably its first visit to 
the front for as the shell whistled over, it looked up in a 
curious, sort of way; then as the crash came, jumped high into 
the air and started madly charging toward Germany. 

A long part of this trip the convoy was on the Route 
Gardee whose traffic rules were very strict, because of the 
fact that it was one of the very arteries w^hich supplied their 
life-b^ood to the troops in the trench area. 

The convoy passed through Lemmes and on to the Bois-de- 
Brocourt to which the billeting detail had been sent early in 
the morning to prepare for the arrival of the train. The first 
trucks of Company "F" arrived in the Bois-de-Brocourt about 
5:00 P. M., cutting off the Route Gardee up a steep slippery 
hill into the woods. In the woods had been erected, probably 
in the early part of the war, a large number of Adrian barracks, 
and in one group of these the Supply Train was billeted. The 
trucks were parked along the road leading to the woods. The 
barracks were dirty and the woods were damp and unhealthy 
but' every man was so tired that the work of policing the camp 
was hurried through, so that a few hours of much needed rest 
might be obtained. 

During this work the men of the train probably saw one 
of the most spectacular sights they had seen since the arrival 
in Europe, 92 American aeroplanes flying above our lines. Off 
beyond the Boche lines a few scattered planes were in the air 
and all along the front the Boche observation balloons; but 
the picture there before us gave convincing evidence of the 
magnitude of this whole warfare on the Argonne front. 

By dark the kitchens were well established and every man 
had a good warm dinner. But while the mess lines were still 

62 



passing the kitchens, the ominous purring of Boche planes was 
heard above, a purring which was so persistently above us 
that all fires in the Company kitchens were hastily camouflaged. 
Then the French anti-aircraft batteries at the edge of the wood 
began to speak out with their barrage of shrapnel, and the 
planes to drop their loadi which made us realize that our entry 
in the woods in the afternoon had not been unnoticed. 

Off and on all that night in the Bois-de-Brocourt the planes 
circled above, while powerful search-lights tried to seek them 
out against the black sky so that the shrapnel barrage could 
be made effective. The planes retaliated with machine guns 
and bombs, the tracer bullets of the machine guns showing up 
against the sky like streaks of fire. But this interesting duel 
going on right overhead meant nothing to the tired men who 
realized that early morning would find them on the road again. 
An hour after mess was finished practically every man was 
asleep, and save for the battle above and the roaring of the guns 
everything in camp was quiet. 

Morning found a large portion of the trucks already on 
the road, and convoys starting back to the area we had just left 
for equipment that had not been carried up on the first trip. 

Major Cole, had in the meantime decided that the Bois-de- 
Brocourt was an impossible camp from the standpoint of truck 
parks, and also since the Boche had already observed ths en- 
trance of the trucks into the woods that it was inadvisable to 
remain there. 

Before noon the entire train was established in Jubecourt, 
a quaint little town a fev/ kilometers from Brocourt. It offered 
the important advantage of suitable parking places although 
these were all easily observable by Boche balloons and aero- 
planes. And for the last time in France the men were bil- 
leted in old Adrian barracks. These were scattered over the 
hills behind the town and contained wooden bunks for 50% 
of the men. 

There was little chance for rest, however; as, arrived in 
the new sector, it was at once necessary to organize it. and 
large convoys were being sent back each day through St. 
Mihiel and Apremont to the old sector to bring up other 
equipment. 

The officers during the halt in Jubecourt were all billeted 
in little wooden shacks whose architecture was similar to that 
of a pigeon coop. These shacks were all built on the sides 
of a hill surrounding a small court yard which had been cut 
out of solid rock. 

We had expected that the Division would remain in reserve 
several v/eeks on the Argonne front before it would take over 
the line; but when a regiment of Artillery moved into Jube- 
court the afternoon of October 15th, ready to take over the 
barracks the train was occupying we realized that orders for 
our movement would come that day. Companies "E" and "F" 
had moved on to Very the day before, so late that afternoon in 
a depressing downpour of rain the rest ot the train moved to 
shell-wrecked Very. 

This trip was extremely interesting despite the rain and 
traffic congestion on the way; one of the towns passed being 
historic old Varennes one of whose hotels had harbored King 
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette after their escape from Paris 

63 



and just before their recapture by the revolutionaries. The 
buildings of Varennes were now but a mass of crumbling shells 
of walls — a city of death. 

As for Very itself, but one solitary building stood there and 
its roof was shattered by shells. It was the town school-house, 
and the French legends on the doors and walls recalled a more 
peaceful day there, where the Artillery was concentrated 
around us and cracking away methodically at the Boche. 

The buildings were all pitiable wrecks, scarcely one stone 
on top of another. Even the cemetery through which the ruth- 
less Boche in his retreat had run a line of trenches, had gaping 
holes in it where shells had dropped here and there. This made 
a terrible wreckage in which were mixed human bodies, crosses, 
iron-crosses which the Boche had substituted for the cross over 
the graves of his soldiers, and heaps of earth and rocks. 

But little of that was seen by the Supply Train men that 
night, however, in the intense darkness which was only il- 
luminated now and then by the sparkling fire of our field pieces, 
and the answering flash of exploding enemy shells. 

The one building which was standing was established as 
Supply Train Headquarters at once, kitchens were established 
under tarpaulins which gave them some shelter from the down- 
pour of rain, and the men after a warm supper went to sleep 
in the beds of their trucks. As usual on such a move, not more 
than half of the personnel of the train was ever located at Very, 
as large convoys were already scattered from Bernecourt in the 
other area to Montfaucon in the new, and many of the men that 
night were on the slippery roads until dawn, helping each other 
out of ditches and pushing on to their destination. 

The next day the men who were in Very, again saw the 
interesting process by which the very success of the Boche in 
the destruction of French property, was made to assist our army 
in his defeat. The scattered mass of rocks which had once been 
homes, churches, schools— a town in which lived a community 
of individuals — was now hauled forward by the engineers to 
make and repair roads as the pursuit of the Boche continued. 

Early the next morning the Supply Train was ordered by 
the Division Commander to move to Ivoiry, a few kilometers 
from Very, and established its Headquarters there before noon 
the next day. Ivoiry was between two war-famous but shell- 
shattered towns Epinonville and Montfaucon, and but a few kilo- 
meters from each. All of this territory about Montfaucon had 
just been wrested from the Boche by the ever victorious 
American First Army. The traces of the battle were still 
fresh all about the town as the train entered, dead men and 
horses lying along the hills, newly made graves of men more 
fortunate in being buried; and equipment of all sorts both 
American and Boche. 

Our position in Ivoiry was in line with our observation bal- 
loons on this front and also in advance of our artillery positions, 
so that we again had the experience of listening to our own 
artillery firing shells over our heads with a whistling screech- 
ing sound that boded ill for the Boche toward whom they were 
directed. These shells Corporal Delaitre, our French In- 
terpreter, had at once christened "departures," and the Boche 
shells which screeched into town w^ere labelled "arrivals." 

64 



Prom the moment the Supply Train arrived in Ivoiry until 
its departure several weeks later, the time was filled with 
thrilling incidents. The night before our arrival a Boche shell 
had dropped among the pup-tent3 occupied by the men of the 
Balloon Companies behind the town and had killed several 
men. 

Every night thereafter the Boche shelled in or near the town 
in a methodical manner which made the nights incomplete un- 
til he had finished his performance. Just as faithful as was the 
Boche artillery so were the Boche aeroplanes, which came over 
in groups every night to drop their bombs on the towns in the 
American area. 

Ivoiry, at the time of our arrival there, probably had more 
walls standing with semblances of roofs above than any other 
town in that particular area; but it was just for that reason 
probably that the Boche made it a target for his shell-fire. In 
the day time Boche observation planes were always above us 
photographing for the night's aerial raids, or to aid the artil- 
lery. 

When the billeting party from the train had first gone 
ahead into Ivoiry it had found the town occupied by the 55th 
Artillery Brigade Headquarters, the Commanding General of 
which at first declared that he would not permit the train to 
move into the town because the trucks would draw shell-fire 
and aeroplane raids to Ivoiry. He seemed particularly adverse 
to the presence of the trucks because the Supply Train had 
never adopted the policy of camouflaging its transportation with 
boughs and green brush. 

The trucks were parked out of the town along the roads. 
Some of the men were quartered in their own shelter tents, al- 
though for the most part they were billeted in the wrecks of 
buildings in the town. 

Supply Train Headquarters were at first located in the town 
church, one entire side of which had been torn off by a large 
shell. This was still decorated with the statuary which the 
Boche had not had time to take with him as he was driven 
from the village; but almost every piece was either shrapnel 
spattered or mutilated by shell-fire. The cemetery in the church 
yard was crowded with iron crosses over the graves of German 
soldiers who had fallen on this battlefield. 

It was at once realized that the church was not a desirable 
place for headquarters because our former experience had taught 
us that Boche artillery commonly chose for its target a church 
steeple. For this reason headquarters were moved into a little 
building formerly a German drinking room whose roof had been 
blown off. This with the aid of shelter tents was made habit- 
able, all headquarters officers being billeted in the little room 
in rear in addition, a wall tent being erected inside the room. 

Lieutenant Scogin, Dental Officer for the train, had been 
assigned the sanitary work of the town. What with the de- 
parture of the Boche and the fact that the battle for the town 
had been hard fought, there was much to be done. Using the 
Medical Detachment and a large detail from the train he at once 
took up this important w^ork. Dead horses were scattered all 
along the way in the stream on which the train depended for 
water. These Lieutenant Scogin buried in shell-holes in the 

65 



fields and although there were twenty-one horses to be buried 
there was no scarcity of shell-holes as the Boche provided new 
ones each night. 

Those days in Ivoiry will never be forgotten by any of the 
personnel of the Supply Train— days when the trucks were al- 
ways on the road and when the men who were allowed to rest 
in billets were awakened time after time during the night by 
the "whiz" and "bang" of the Boche shells, and by the crash 
of the bombs dropped by the Fritzes and Jerries. 

It was in Ivoiry also that a large replacement of men was 
received, many of whom proved to be very valuable to the 
train within the next few months, and despite their short service 
were occupying positions of responsibility. 

As in preparation for the St. Mihiel drive, the train was 
again operating as Ammunition, Engineer and Sanitary Train 
in addition to its functions as a Supply Train, and its convoys 
were operating over a territory extending as far back as Varen- 
nes and forward to the front line trenches. 

Our Division now a part of the 5th Corps, had on October 
19th relieved the 32nd Division taking over a large portion of 
the Argonne front beyond Bantheville. Then it had at once 
begun the difficult task of cleaning up the Bantheville woods. 
This achievement was later the subject of special commendation 
of the Division by the Corps Commander. 

On October 25th, a Provisional Company was formed under 
the command of Lieutenant Ledford. to operate all the G. M. C. 
and light Ford delivery trucks in the train, all of these being 
placed on Special Duty with the various Infantry Regiments 
and Machine Gun Battalions of the Division. Lieutenant Upp 
replaced Lieutenant Ledford as Dispatching Officer for the next 
three weeks, during the operation of the Provisional Company. 

On the following day on order from Major General Wright, 
Division Commander, 184 men from the train were placed on 
Special Duty with the 341st Machine Gun Battalion as replace- 
ments for that organization which had sustained heavy losses 
in the St. Mihiel Sector. Tliis reduced the personnel of the 
train to such a point that it w^as possible to have but one man 
on each truck; and in the days that followed when a driver 
became wounded it was necessary to send back to the Company 
park for a driver to complete the detail or bring the truck 
back to park. 

All roads in the forward areas over which the Companies of 
the train were operating at this time were continually under 
shell-fire and the Boche artillery became so active that every 
convoy became a perilous mission and the daily toll of casual- 
ties in the train was high. Especially was this true of the main 
road leading through Romagne to Bantheville, and also of the 
road branching off it to Gesnes, 

The first man wounded on the Argonne front was Sergeant 
Roy L. Cross, of Company "E," who was hit in the arm by a 
shrapnel on the afternoon of October 26th, while in charge of 
a convoy. 

It was on the afternoon of October 27th that the first man 
in the train was killed by shell-fire. Private Joseph Dobmeier, 
Company "B," driving a light delivery truck, had reported to the 
354th Infantry of Gesnes with three others on detail early in 
the afternoon. As the detail waited on the side of the road 

66 



near the gasoline dump in Gesnes, the Boche began to shell 
the hill near Gesnes. Suddenly the detail made up of Supply- 
Train men heard a shell whistling right into town, and all 
jumped for the ditching at the side of the road except Dob- 
meier. The shell dropped in the kitchen of Company "I" 354th 
Infantry, killing at once a group inside, and a piece of the spat- 
tering metal cutting Dobmeier's throat as he sat at the wheel. 
All of those who were killed by the shell were buried on the side 
of the hill near Gesnes together that night, rude crosses on 
which were nailed their identification tags being put up in the 
ground above them. 

The trucks on Special Duty with the different organizations 
were performing duties of all sorts at this time, carrying troops 
around, and at night bringing warm food to the men in the 
front line trenches. These details were always perilous for 
the night flares of the Boche would lighten up the entire sky on 
miles of the front, outlining in clear relief the trucks as they 
rolled along the road in the hail of shrapnel. 

In thQ last few days of the month Companies "A" and "B" 
had located at Cierges; Company "E" had gone over to Eclis- 
fontaine on Special Duty with the 314th Sanitary Train, and 
Company "D," its headquarters remaining in Ivoiry, had the 
majority of its trucks on details with the various regiments. 
Company "F" was used for general details, but for the most 
part was assisting in the work of the 314th Engineer Regiment. 
The whole of Company "C" had been placed with the Engineers 
on Special Duty, locating in Romagne, and operating between 
Romagne and Bantheville. This road had been so badly torn 
by shell fire that it was realized that an advance would be im- 
possible over it until it had been repaired. 

With the front line just in front of Bantheville Company 
"C" and detachments from Company "F" worked hard on the 
road every night until the drive began. Their work was 
principally hauling rock from the destroyed buildings in Rom- 
agne, and "G. I. cans" which the Supply Train men had come to 
call the German big shells, provided an increasing supply of 
material. One night a shell not only provided plenty of rock, 
but also partially loaded a "C" Company truck when it hit a 
wall by the side of which the truck was being loaded. 

On the afternoon of October 31st practically all arrange- 
ments for the drive had been completed. It was on that after- 
noon that Private 1st Class Lloyd E. Abbott, Headquarters 
Detachment, driving the Headquarter's truck, was wounded in 
the arm by shrapnel while on detail in Romagne. Private 
Abbott said nothing to any one about his wound, but binding 
his arm up himself completed his mission, and then drove back 
to Ivoiry with one hand, mindless of the perils of the trip 
back on the shell swept road. The next day Private Abbott 
was evacuated to an S. O. S. Hospital, and has never returned 
to this organization. 

On the night of October 31st, as on the night preceding the 
St. Mihiel drive, a large percentage of the Supply Train was 
waiting ready to follow the dough-boys over the top with rations 
and material for the construction of trenches. Four "C" Company 
trucks were loaded with engineer material and waiting to go 
forward with the first echelon of Engineers, and several other 

67 



convoys of trucks were waiting in Bantheville to go forward 
with road material to keep the line of communications in 
operation. 

The 184 men of the Supply Train on Special Duty with the 
341st Machine Gun Battalion were waiting near Romagne with 
that organization to go over the top, some as ammunition car- 
riers for the machine guns, while some had been put in as as- 
sistant gunners. 

Traffic had been very heavy during those last few days 
because of the rearrangement of the artillery with the con- 
sequent movement of the heavy awkward tractors all over the 
area. 

At this time the 90th Division was on the right of the 
89th, the 2nd Division on its left; and everything was ready 
for the final offensive which was destined to bring the Boche 
to his kneesj eleven days later. 



68 




Sector Beyond Bantheville. 



CHAPTER XL 

THE ARGONNE-MEUSE OFFENSIVE. 
APrn<.<. from the American First Army, the enemy had con- 

•"■"^If ufe First Phase of the Meuse-Argonne offensive our First 

Arm? had Sptur^ed such ^rT^Z^^rv^J'nZT^J'Z'a 
faucon and Septsarges. In '^e Second Phase Komag 
Sommerance had been taken and the n gh of Oc^o^^^.,,^ 
'"™^hrUTcI ^TZm^ risfon had gained to^ itseif 
before the Commencement o£ the last phase of the offenswe 
H\e morning o£ Nove,r^ber 1st, J^^^f -™ j^,^,4^VhlchTa! 
SrVoTa^Ge^an "pU'oLr^usnetore the «nal phase ot 
the offensive began: "October 30, 1918. 

"r^ Tn the last few days considerable losses have been 

caused hftfren^ny -tilleW^^^^^ 

rron^lTt %:ST wlfho!;t"if:££ the .mencan arti. 

lery places all landmarks and woods undei fire. 

71 



Pass-word for tonight, 'Dansig.' Pass-word from November 2, 
noon, 'Feuerschein.' Pass-word from November 5th noon, 
'Fischetter.' 

"7. The Division is again opposite the 89th American Di- 
vision as in the St. Mihiel region. This Division is, as at that 
time, known as a good American Shock Division which under- 
takes many strong patrol movements. On the present sector 
the 89th Division is probably in line with three regiments in 
the front line, the fourth regiment in reserve. The Division 
is at full strength; its combat strength is high; namely 5 of- 
ficers and 250 non-commissioned officers and men per com- 
pany. From the words of prisoners brought in the last few 
days the Division has been placed in the present section for an 
advance. From various maps and other notes it attempts to 
take; as its objective the line from Buzancy Heights, southwest 
to Stenay. 

"The capture of new prisoners for the further clearing of 
the situation is urgently commanded." 

It was at 10:30 P. M. of October 31st that the preliminary 
barrage started all along the line. Even this preliminary bar- 
rage was more intense than had been the final barrage back 
in the St. Mihiel Sector. This preliminary barrage lasted until 
3:00. Then followed 20 minutes of comparative quiet and then 
again the barrage re-commenced with added fury. During the 
next two hours a continuous line of fire couM be seen along the 
entire American front where countless batteries were raining 
their missiles on the Boche. 

As in the St. Mihiel drive, our dough-boys went over the 
top at 5:00 A. M. behind a rolling barrage which the early stages 
of the advance easy. Convoy after convoy of our trucks fol- 
lowed the dough-boys over the.- top, supplying the necessities of 
the advance — ammunition, road material and rations. 

In the early morning a string of 400 German prisoners 
came back under Military Police guard, continually grumbling 
among themselves about the terrific barrage, and wondering if 
the Americans had not invented a "75" machine gun for their 
destruction. 

By nightfall of November 1st, the Second, 89th and 90th • 
Divisions had taken Bayonville, RemonviUe and Andevanne, 
and the 89th had pushed well on toward the extremely difficult 
heights of Barricourt, which was considered the key to the 
enemy position. 

That day was full of tremendous significance for the men of 
the train. Early in the morning had come the rumor that Austria 
and Turkey were suing for peace, and these added to prostrate 
Bulgaria left the Boche to fight his battle alone, and every man 
in the train could see the Boche's last hopes crumbling that day 
as the Division pushed forward victoriously. 

The prisoners coming back had appeared to be an inferior 
class of men utterly demoralized and happy that there would be 
no more fighting for them, and once captured they had taken 
every possible means of showing their contempt for their of- 
ficers. 

The day of November 1st, was a very busy one for the Sup- 
ply Train, for the large number of trucks on detail with the 
Infantry Regiments and Machine Gun Battalions, left a shortage 

72 



of transportation to take care of the rest of the Division's 
needs. 

Company C's trucks had gone forward with the Engineers 
for the most part early in the morning, and by noon were work- 
ing toward Remonville, which had been well inside the Boche 
lines a few hours before. 

A small detachment from Company "C" had been detailed 
to assist the Engineers in making a road to a Field Hospital 
near Bantheville, about noon. This detachment of drivers had 
hardly commenced their work when they were attacked by a 
camouflaged Boche aeroplane which poured machine gun fire 
at them. 

Among the Company "C" men who became casualties at this 
time, were Corporal Edward G. Jagels, wounded at Romagne 
on October 28, and Sergeant Earl W. Isgrig and Corporal 
David L. Swanson, gassed at Bantheville on November 1st. 

The pursuit of the Boche soon became as fatiguing for our 
truck drivers as had been at first the pursuit of our own dough- 
boys. After our Division's advance had once been set in motion, 
the Boche retreated so rapidly, holding only here and there, hia 
especially strong points, that it became necessary in many 
cases to carry our dough-boys in trucks to the rear of the 
Boche to accelerate his retirement. These convoys saw much 
of interest but probably no more than any other groups of trucks 
dispatched out by Supply Train Headquarters that day and the 
days that followed. 

The following experience of a detail of Company "F" trucks 
told by Sergeant Fred A. Liebers who was in charge is interest- 
ing as indicative of what the average convoy was doing at this 
time: 

"About noon of November 1st, my convoy consisting of 10 
trucks was ordered to report to an Engineer officer at Romagne. 
We were used the remainder of the afternoon on minor details. 
About 11:00 o'clock that night our trucks were all well loaded 
with engineer material and we were ordered to remain in 
Romagne for the night, and get instructions as to the disposi- 
tion of our load in the morning. 

"There was nothing for us to do but make our beds 
on the rocks and other materials we were hauling on the trucks. 
The Engineer dump just outside of Romagne near the cemetery 
was a real 'Dead Man's Curve,' as it seemed to be a favorite 
target for the Boche plessantry in the shape of H. E. and Gas. 

"It seemed as if we had no more than gone to sleep 
when we found ourselves all sitting upright on top of the rocks, 
feeling as if some one had hit us over the head with a club. 
Our awakening was in a flash of fire, a terrific explosion and 
a shower of rocks and earth which sprinkled over us. 

"As there was no place to protect ourselves from shell 
fire we lay there on the alert for some time while the shells 
were dropping in close to us. Most of these shells were duds, 
but it was second nature to lie fiat as we heard them whistling 
in, and the strain on the nerves was rather great. 

"In the early morning we were ordered to Remonville 
where it was intended to establish the new dump. Traffic was 
light so we arrived at Remonville in good time, but once there 
we were informed that our destination was now the Barricourt 
woods, 

73 



"The road to the Barricourt woods was soft and full of shell 
holes, and in places we had all we could do to pull our trucks 
through on, low. The sides of the road were strewn with dead 
soldiers and horses and just before we got to the woods we 
saw the 342nd Machine Gun Battalion, which convinced us that 
the front on which the Division was fighting w^as not far ahead. 
Just as we were trying to get our trucks down an impossible 
stretch of road in the woods, the officer there ordered us to 
move on to Barricourt itself and establish the dump there. 

"As we pulled out of the lower edge of the woods, we met 
several stretcher bearers who expressed their astonishment on 
hearing where we were going, saying that the dough-boys were 
still fighting in the streets of Barricourt, for possession of the 
town. 

"The sides of the road were now covered with wounded and 
dead. As we arrived just outside the village we found a bar- 
ricade across the road made of some old wagons, and some rock 
and lumber. A Boche machine gun was behind this and the 
five Germans who had manned it, lay dead in a pool of blood 
almost 50 feet away. 

"We tore down the barricade and followed the dough-boys 
into Barricourt where they were still routing Germans out of 
dugouts and buildings, and taking the wounded to the first aid 
station. We started the unloading of the trucks in Barricourt. 

"About noon eight or ten Boche planes came over and 
treated us to a machine gun strafing during which, of course, 
we kept under what shelter we could find. TTien the Boche 
artillery began to shell the town with big ones, most of the 
shells striking uncomfortably close to the church by which our 
trucks were parked, and finally they were coming in so thick 
that we had to scatter our trucks so that some one shell would 
not get a large percentage of them. 

"We finally started away from Barricourt about one-thirty, 
oui^ trucks all unloaded. We had to go back by the Bayonville 
Road which at that time was really a swamp and it took us 
four hours to get our trucks through it, making the foundation 
of the road as we went, with wood and rock, and Boche helmets 
and rifles. 

"We got back to Ivoiry about 10:00 P. M. and had several 
hours sleep, before our next detail." 

And so scores of details went in those early days of 
November. The 89th Division had quickly taken its most im- 
portant objective, the Bois-de-Barricourt. It is said that 
Marshal Foch, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies, on 
hearing that the Bois-de-Barricourt had been taken, rose to his 
feet excitedly and exclaimed: 'The war is finished.'" 

The advance of the 89th Division was rapid. The night of 
November 2nd had seen Barricourt passed and our troops in 
Tailly and just at the edge of Nouart. The night of November 
3rd found the Division at the outskirts of Beauclair, having en- 
countered some rather bitter fighting, but never dropping be- 
hind schedule. Tlie fighting on November 4th resulted in a big 
advance which put the Division beyond Laneuville. Further 
advance put our troops on the banks of the Meuse by the 
night of the 5th, ready to attempt the crossing. 

In this preparation. Company "C" which had closely pursued 
the infantry in its rapid advance was taking an active part, 

74 



hauling bridge material and boats for a pontoon bridge to 
.effect the crossing. These trucks from Company "C," and de- 
tachments of the train had followed the infantry closely into 
Beaufort, Halles, Laneuville and then Stenay, in many cases 
truck drivers watching from a high point the fighting in the 
next valley. 

In innumerable cases during this time, individual men had 
been pressed into all sorts of service — as first aid men — as 
stretcher bearers — to actually join in the fight — and to carry 
the wounded back to hospitals. 

The experience of the 184 men whom the train had sent on 
duty with the 341st Machine Gun Battalion is extremely in- 
teresting in this connection. The following story told by Pri- 
vate 1st Class Alvin C. Brandt of Headquarters Detachment, 
one of the men sent on Special Duty with the Machine Gun 
Battalion, gives a good impression of the experience those men 
had; an experience which is particularly interesting because al- 
though every man had had some experience with infantry drill, 
not one was in the least experienced in Machine Gun warfare: 

"On October 25th the replacement of which I was a part, 
left Ivoiry by truck for Gesnes, France, to report to the Com- 
manding Officer of the 341st Machine Gun Battalion. 

"We left our trucks in this village and then went on foot 
two miles to Romagne to a large barn, the top of which had 
been blown off by a German shell. There we were assembled 
the next morning walking a mile to the Argonne Forest where 
we were served our breakfast and assigned to Company "B" 
of the Machine Gun Battalion. 

"That night my squad with six others was sent up to dig 
machine gun pits a few hundred yards behind the front line 
trenches, so we made our way up through gas and wire en- 
tanglements and then across an open field to the place our pits 
were to be dug. Our work was unmolested that night and at 
2:00 A. M. the next morning we started back. 

"The third night our squad carried ammunition from a 
nearby barn to the pits, our work being much more difficult 
now because the Boche aeroplanes and artillery had located 
our whereabouts. 

"These ammunition boxes contained 1200 rounds of am- 
munition, and weighed 147 pounds. Frequently as we trudged 
over the rough field stumbling in water and shell holes under 
this weight, "Jerrys" flares would lighten the night as far as 
the eye could see. At these moments we would halt in our 
tracks until the light disappeared, then run for safety to the 
nearest pits. 

"Then his shells would drop around us, and he would turn 
his machine guns on us in a rain of bullets, but without harm- 
ing us as we would be concealed three or four feet below the 
surface — by this time. In the early morning, one of the squad 
told us our ammunition carts were waiting for us near the barn, 
so we retraced our steps, a shell dropping in the middle of the 
barn just as we approached it. The shells dropped all about us 
as we went back with the ammunition carts, but finally we had 
arrived at the edge of the forest and had trudged the two 
miles through it to a few hours of sleep. 

"On the night of October 31st, we loaded our tripods, 
Vicker's Machine Guns and other equipment on our horse carts, 

75 



taking three days' rations for men and three days' feed for horses 
with us. Another detail had been working on the pits during 
that evening, and by the time we came up these were finished. 
We carried 27,000 rounds of ammunition for each gun, and by 
midnight everything was ready. 

"There had been a fairly heavy barrage all night until 3:00 
o'clock which with the roar of a tremendous gun at about 3:20 
caused the answering signal to flash all along the line. Our 
48 machine guns were in action at the moment, discharging 
ammunition at the rate of 250 rounds per minute. 

"At 4 A. M. the asbestos cooler around our rifle became 
boiling hot and the piece ceased to fire. At 4:30 we resumed 
fire, having refilled the cooler with water several times. This 
time we raised the barrel a few inches as our infantry was soon 
to go over the top. We were now throwing a barrage over our 
infantry about a mile ahead of us, and every 15 minutes we 
raised the point of our barrel so that we would not catch 
our dough-boys in our own barrage. 

"An hour later the order for rapid fire was given and our 
gun began speakmg at the rate of 500 rounds per minute, as 
we had been told that all firing would cease at 5:45. Discharg- 
ing 2000 more rounds we were ordered to load our guns on 
the carts. 

'After we had loaded our guns most of the men were under 
the impression that the battle was over and that Jerry was 
conquered, but in reality Jerry was very much awake now and 
on the alert. 

'Our carts pulled out to the rear of where we had thrown 
our barrage, and the'n our train traveled in a half-circle past 
numerous large naval guns and French 75's. In the meantime 
we had met 40 or 50 German prisoners whom our infantry had 
sent back with stretchers to pick up the wounded. 

"By this time Jerry was ready for a counter attack, and 
a cloud of smoke from the hill east of us, convinced us that 
he was about to begin to set down his barrage. Our carts 
were immediately pulled alongside the hill and unloaded, leaving 
the horses hitched to the wagons. 

"A rain of shells was coming in by this time and I had 
found shelter in a little pit which I tried to make deeper, de- 
spite the fact that it was dangerous, because of low fiying 
shells, to even raise up on the knees. 

' A few minutes later one of our horses was hit by fiying 
shrapnel. It was now 10:30 A. M., and shells were falling 
quicker than before, and our artillery which we had seen on 
the road three hours before was now in action again. At 
this time a messenger sent from our hill with orders to our 
men on the hill opposite us was hit by shrapnel. 

"We then started out across No Man's Land, carrying our 
equipment and allowing the carts to go by the road. Then we 
dug in in a wheat field, where digging was easy, and pushed 
on through a timber at the edge of which we saw a large plain 
with Remonville set in the middle. We encamped for the 
night there, having covered over 7 miles of territory carrying 
our heavy machine gun equipment the entire distance, as our 
carts could not follow us through the timber. 

76 



"We started out again early the next morning, having some 
difficulty as we passed the cross roads near Remonville which 
Fritz was keeping under continuous shell fire. 

"Our train again advanced on Novembei- 4th, by that after- 
noon being 15 miles from Romagne where our advance began 
November 1st The fields here looked as if they had been 
plowed our heavy artillery having wrought havoc, and Jerry's 
dead horses and disabled trucks lay all along the road. 

"Some of our dough-boys had gone beyond their objective 
and were caught in our own barrage and others were killed 
in counter-attacks of the enemy, but we had exacted a heavy 
toll of Boche dead too. By this time we saw our dough-boys 
being hauled along in trucks to enable them to catch up with 
the quickly fleeing Germans, and thus complete their rout. 

"That night we had advanced to Tailly, and by the night 
of November 5th, had gone on to the Beauclair woods where 
our carts were unloaded and we proceeded on foot into the 
timber to camp there. Our slickers were our only protection 
from the rain and we slept on our packs, the next morning 
digging in and putting up our pup tents in the woods. 

"About 1:00 A. M. an enemy shell hit the top of a large 
oak tree near the pit in which we were sleeping injuring one 
man in our pit. and four sergeants in the vicinity. 

"November 8th we went into the Beaufort woods remain- 
ing there until November 10th, traveling on that day to Laneu- 
ville where the drivers took care of the horses while we pre- 
pared for a barrage. The place chosen for our guns was too 
far for us to carry the heavy ammunition boxes, so the boxes 
were opened and each soldier carried 600 rounds of ammuni- 
tion to the pits one-half mile away along the railroad to Stenay. 
The heavy artillery was not with us to protect us m case the 
enemy followed our barrage with a counter-attack. We were 
at a loss to understand whether another drive was to take 
place or if we were put here as snipers, and the old gunners 
were 'not anxious to throw the barrage over, believing that the 
enemy's one pounders would shatter our gun positions before 
we! could reach the road in safety. 

"Shortly before six o'clock in the morning of November 
11th we were ordered to vacate the place, going back to Laneu- 
ville' feasting on a dinner from buckwheat flour, potatoes, pickles 
and sauerkraut which Jerry had left in his hasty retreat. 

"At about eleven o'clock all guns were suddenly silent 
and although everyone noticed the change no one was able 
to account for it. It was several hours later that we were in- 
formed an armistice had put an end to the fighting, and three 
days later we returned to the Supply Tram." 

It had been an exciting experience for all of the 184 men 
who had gone on the detail. 

Tlie individual experiences of the other men who had gone 
on the detail were various. Probably one of the most unique 
of these was the experience of Private Antonio Papa of J^ 
Company who had a horse blown from under him, and his cart 
demolished behind him. At this demolition of his transporta- 
tion he became so angry that his comrades had difficulty m 
restraining him from charging the enemy alone. 

In the meantime the train had been having one of the most 
trying periods in its history. At a time when it had its greatest 



77 



need of personnel, it had been stripped down to the least pos- 
sible number of men that would allow the operation of its 
transportation. 

On November 4th Supply Train Headquarters had moved to 
Remonville, the entire train assembling there except Companies 
"C" and "E" which were still on Special Duty, the former with 
the Engineers, the latter with the Sanitary Train. 

Headquarters were established in a large chateau which 
also provided billets for all officers in the train and for Head- 
quarters Detachment. The Companies were billeted in wrecks 
of buildings which the Boche had left in a terrible state of 
police. In Company "D's" kitchen for instance, it was neces- 
sary to remove a number of German dead before the field 
range could be set up. And there were dead Boche and horses 
all through the streets of the town. 

Company "F" policed up a place on the side of the hill 
near 'town to pitch its shelter tents using an old stone build- 
ing with no roof for a kitchen. 

Incidentally several officers of the train discovered in the 
woods near the Remonville-Bayonville road, an abandoned Boche 
battery of big guns, one of which had charted as its objective 
the town of Ivoiry. This had undoubtedly been one of the guns 
which had caused us so much trouble while in that village. 

A large percentage of the trucks not on special detail had 
been operating during these days out of Beauclair and Beaufort 
successively designated as the Division Ration Dump, and the 
number of casualties in the train had been Increasing each day. 

On the afternoon of November 5th a large convoy of Sup- 
ply Train ration trucks while unloading at Beaufort were in 
unusual peril for several hours, and a number of men became 
casualties at the time. 

The trucks were being unloaded one at a time and the 
drivers standing near their trucks listening to the crashing of 
shells near the dump. Suddenly three shells came over in 
quick succession, the third making a direct hit on a Quad truck 
loaded with big shells. The driver of the Quad was killed 
instantly and then came a fierce and heavy bombardment by 
the Boche, as the flare of the exploding shells on the Quad 
made a good target for his artillery. As the trucks were un- 
loaded they were ordered to pull away as rapidly as possible, 
for congestion of traffic at the dump made it become still 
more dangerous. 

In these first few days after the drive began, four Supply 
Train trucks were almost utterly wrecked by direct hits from 
Boche artillery. 

At this time when the Boche army was retreating as rapidly 
as possible a detail of two "C" Company trucks w^as given one 
of the most interesting and perilous missions that fell to the 
lot of any Supply Train convoy in the Meuse-Argonne offensive. 

On the night of November 7th the possibility of a crossing 
of the Meuse river that night caused our infantry regiments 
which were pushing toward the river to call for pontoons to aid 
them in making the crossing. The detail was to bring an 
engineering detachment and two boats to the edge of the 
Meuse river at Laneuville which was but a few kilometers from 
Stenay. 

78 



Sergeant Watkins was placed in charge of the convoy of 
two trucks and had as drivers on one truck Corporals Gray 
and Marcus and on the other Corporals Franzen and Cross. 

After dusk that night the two boats were placed on one 
truck and the engineer detail of thirty men on the other. They 
made the trip to the river successfully despite heavy shell and 
machine gun fire, and ten of the engineer detachment went 
across the river on the first boat put in the river. This 
detail was forced to come back however without accomplishing 
its mission of preparing the pontoon bridge because of the in- 
tensity of the machine gun fire rained on them from the guns 
in Stenay which was still in possession of the Germans. 

Corporal Franzen was successful in returning to Supply 
Train Headquarters before twilight the next morning; but 
Corporal Gray was forced to ditch his truck when a shell break- 
ing immediately in front of his truck killed two horses and 
destroyed a combat wagon which had been on the road in front 
of him. As this truck came to grief^at a spot which was under 
direct German observation it v^s not possible to get it back 
into service until three days later, the morning of the armistice. 

On November 8th rumors became more persistent that the 
end of the war was near and that German plenipotentiaries had 
been sent over across the lines, suing for an Armistice. 
Simultaneously came the information that the Kaiser had 
abdicated, the Crown Prince had renounced his claims to the 
throne and both had fled from Germany to Holland. 

The verification of this story had brought with it the news 
that Marshal Foch's Armistice terms had been "Unconditional 
Surrender." 

Therefore when on November lltli the order came from 
Division Headquarters that all fighting in the air, and on the 
land and sea would cease at 11 hours of that date, the members 
of the train realized in their usual quiet and undemonstrative 
way that the greatest war in all history had finally come to an 
end, and from that time on trucks might roll down the roads 
of France, head lights flaring, without fear; that there would 
be no more nights when sleep would be banished by the whiz 
and crash of shells; in short that we were at last on the home- 
ward journey. We realized there in Remonville that the arm- 
istice had not ended our work, but we did realize that it was 
but a question of months before we would be starting back 
home. 



79 



PART HI. 
IN THE ARMY OF OCCUPATION. 



Il 



CHAPTER XII. 

AFTER THE ARMISTICE. 

Immediately after the armistice when the strain of battle 
was over, and when the Division's condition of status quo made 
the train's work temporarily lighter, Headquarters remained 
in Remonville, all the companies assembled in the same town, 
and we waited— waited for our next move of whose nature we 
were uncertain. 

It was a much more trying period than had been any period 
when the train had been in battle. Every man in the Division 
was impatient to know what was coming, and rumors as to 
the nature of our next move became as universal and as 
generally incorrect as had been the rumors of the time of our 
departure from the States when we were back in Funston. 

The first rumor was to the effect that the 89th Division 
would go along into Germany as a part of the Advance Guard 
of the Army of Occupation. This rumor had foundation in 
fact as at one time it had been planned to use the Division 
thus. With the rescinding of this order, the rumor spread that 
the Division was slated for a quick return to the States. And 
so it went; each day there in Remonville saw the birth of a 
new rumor which rarely lived longer than the next day. 

On the day after the armistice, Major General William 
Wright had been relieved as Division Commander to take com- 
mand of the First Corps. He had been, in command of the 
Division since September 6th, and was universally loved. 

He was succeeded in the command by Major General Frank 
L. Winn who had brought the Division overseas from Camp 
Mills in June and had remained in command of the Division 
until Major General Wright's assignment to it. 

The train during this period had been functioning normally, 
operating over roads gradually improving on account of the 
work of the Engineers, and operating with less complicated 
machinery, because of the very stability of the Division, hold- 
ing a portion of the front line on the Meuse, as it was, with 
orders not to advance. 

At this time Major Cole who had labored ceaselessly- for 
the efficiency of the train and consequently the uninterrupted 
operation of the transportation of the Division, received news 
which was almost unbearable after his vitality-sappmg work 
those days and nights in the Argonne-Meuse Drive. A cable- 
gram arrived telling him of the death of his wife. It was a time 
of great sorrow in the train for every heart went out to his 
in deepest sympathy. , ^ ^ 

On November 21st, Company "C" was ordered transferred 
to the Headquarters of the Third Army, just being formed, al- 
though the order was quickly amended so that the Company 
was merely placed on Detached Service with the Provisional 
Supply Train attached to those Headquarters. 

83 



On that date, Captain Orr, and Lieutenant McGuffey with 
Company 'C" which had been with us in Funston, had come 
with us through two drives, departed, going first back to Dijon. 
At Dijon the Company drew trucks and convoyed them im- 
mediately to Luxembourg by way of Metz reporting there to the 
Chief Motor Transport Officer of the Third Army for duty. 

In the meantime orders had finally come through for the 
disposition of the Division, and these ended a period of great 
nervous strain. 

Late the same evening of the departure of Company "C" 
from the train, had come orders from Third Army Headquarters, 
reading as follows: 

"Under instructions from higher authority, the 7th Army 
Corps consisting of the 7th Corps Staff, and the 5th, 89th and 
90th Divisions, will pass under the Command of the 3rd Army 
at 5 hours, 22 November. 

«'3 ***** The assembly of the Corps will be made with 
a view to its following up the 3rd and 4th Corps after they 
cross the Luxembourg-German frontier, about the first of De- 
cember, with 1 Division in rear of each Corps. 

"4. Headquarters of the 7th Army Corps will open at 
Virion at 12 hours, 23 November. *****" 

So came the news that we were to be a part of the Army 
of Occupation, and were neither scheduled for immediate re- 
turn to the States, nor for a tiresome and uncomfortable halt 
in France. 

It was an announcement which meant great added respons- 
ibility for the train, for it came at a time when we had less 
transportation than at any time in our history; less than 
100 trucks and less than 300 tons of transportation. This was due 
to the fact that Major Cole had sent back to the Motor Parks 
in the S. O. S. a large amount of inferior transportation, rend- 
ered so by long usage, on the assurance from First Army Head- 
quarters that it would be replaced with new. With the transfer 
of the 89th Division to the Third Army came a cancellation of 
this order, and a failure to return the transportation we had 
given up. 

In addition the gasoline problem had become a tremend- 
ously pressing one immediately after the armistice. With the 
signing of the armistice a large percentage of the French gas- 
oline stations had closed up, and there were many great trans- 
portation problems to be solved before the necessarily large 
quantities of supplies could be gotten up to us. 

At that time the 89th Division was supposed to draw its 
gasoline from the Railhead at Dun-Sur-Meuse, but the supply 
there was so limited that it was necessary to send convoys 
in search of gasoline all over the area of the First Army and 
even far back into the S. O. S. 

The oil question was just as acute, trucks being sent at 
times to Salvage Parks to draw the oil from the crank cases 
of salvaged vehicles, and many other devices being resorted 
to to obtain it. 

With all of these problems at least temporarily solved the 
Supply Train was ordered to begin its long hard move toward 
Germany on the 24th of November, 13 days after the armistice 
had silenced the last hostile shot. 

84 



CHAPTER XIII. 
TOWARD THE LAND OF THE BOCHE. 

It was at 7:30 P. M. the night of November 24th that the 
Supply Train left Remonville, France, beginning its movement 
toward Germany. It was again hauling the Division's equip- 
ment, rations and supplies, although on this occasion the ar- 
rangements provided for the advance of all foot troops by 
marching. 

But this very arrangement made a complicated problem 
for the train handicapped by shortage of transportation. It 
provided widely scattered ration dumps which were daily 
changed by march tables. These of course were dependent on 
the rapidity of the march of the foot troops. 

The success of our railway engineers in constructing new 
railway trackage where the Boche had destroyed it, made it 
possible of course to allow the railhead to keep pace with the 
advance of the Division so that there was never any appreciable 
lengthening of the lines of communications. But these very 
changes made the details of the advance of the Division an in- 
ceasing y complicated game to be played. 

The first jump of the train was from Remonville, through 
Stenay and on to Montmedy, the immensely important French 
railway town near the Belgian border, which the Boche would 
have attempted to hold at all costs, had he determined to at- 
tempt to continue the fight. 

The trip to Montmedy was through beautiful valleys, and 
wondrous little villages, although here and there the Boche 
marauder had left the trail of vandalism behind him in the 
shape of rows of young trees felled and long lines of telephone 
and telegraph poles chopped down for no other purpose than 
the destruction itself. 

The tram was billeted in a number of large houses in Mont- 
medy, all of which had been left in filthy condition by the de- 
feated Boche army, which had passed through a few days be- 
fore our arrival. 

Company "F" was billeted in a large theater which had been 
erected for Ihe German soldiers. In every way the invader had 
done his best to Germanize the entire town, renaming its 
streets, and covering its hillsides with dirty, ugly barracks. 

The train remained in Montmedy until the afiernoon of 
November 26th, when it moved to Chatillon, Belgium, a billet- 
ing party having gone on ahead that morning across the Belgian 
border, an 1 through Virton and St. Leger to Chatillon. 

85 



The entrance into Belgium was like a homecoming to our 
men, acclaimed as they were at once by. the natives as saviors 
of the country. As the convoys of the trucks rolled through 
the towns, the men, women and children waved or saluted, the 
girls threw kisses and flowers, while all shouted their welcome. 
A sign posted on a tree at the outskirts of Chatillon by some 
zealous individual eager to show us the sincerity of the wel- 
come, might be criticised as to the purity of the English used, 
but the purity of the feeling exhibited is above reproach. It 
read : 

"TANK COD FOR PRESIDENT WILSON." 

And at once were they anxious to show their welcome. 
Every house in town was anxious to furnish billets to us, and 
a newly arrived representative of the Belgian Mission was busy 
at once, making our stay there pleasant. 

The women who from acquaintance with the German 
soldiers, had at first risen to their feet in terror as our men 
entered the rooms, soon were put at ease realizing that our 
men had come to subdue Germanism just because it represented 
that sort ol thing. 

Thanksgiving day was spent in Chatillon and it was a day 
of thanksgiving for the Belgians too, for on that day came a 
courier from their King Albert reassuming control of the 
country and announcing that he would personally be in Arlon 
some time later. 

TTie tales of cruelties practiced by the German officers 
and soldiers on the civil population were the first we had 
heard direct from the persons on whom they had been inflicted, 
and for the first time we realized what German Occupation had 
really meant to Belgium. 

On November 30th the train moved on the short distance to 
Arion arrivirg there at 11:30 A. M. and taking over one of the 
large barrack buildings in the Caserne Leopold — a huge four- 
story affair that very comfortably housed all our men, all 
company kitchens being established in great rooms on the 
ground floor. These barracks recently evacuated by the Boche, 
were also in a terrible state of police, and the courtyard sur- 
rounded by the barracks was piled high with dirt and rubbish 
of all sorts, intermingled with Boche helmets, rifles, machine 
guns and even abandoned trucks and trailers. 

Here again the problem of gasoline and oil became a 
tremendous one and convoys were dispatched as far back as 
Bar-le-Duc by Major Cole to try to remedy the situation. 

Temporarily delayed by this, the train at last moved on 
across the border into the picturesque Grand Duchy of Luxem- 
bourg, resting for one night, the night of December 5th in 
Mersch, and moving on the next day to Echternach, where Di- 
vision Headquarters was temporarily established at the time. 

Echternach was located on the banks of the Sauer River 
— and across the Sauer was Germany. It was an interesting 
night there in Echternach although our men were billeted in 
barns, under sheds, and some under their own shelter-tents. 

That night had come into our hands the preparatory orders 
for our entry into Germany, which had found us ready to cross 
the bridge into Germany, our infantry having already crossed 
the river that day. 

86 



Extracts from the order are as follows: 
"HEADQUARTERS 
89TH DIVISION 
American Expeditionary Forces. 
General Orders. December 5, 1918. 

No. 103. 

"1, Tomorrow this Division marches into 
Germany. Every man is proud of this Division, 
proud of its fine record, proud it has been selected 
to represent the United States on hostile soil. 

"2. The Commander-in-Chief has called on us to 
deal fairly with the German people. Our great na- 
tion entered this war to give oppressed people a 
square deal. With our Allies we have won the 
victory which guarantees this square deal. Our 
Army of Occupation is here to secure this square 
deal. We demand it, we enforce it and we will 
also give it. 

By command of Major General Winn: 

John C. H. Lee 
Colonel General Staff, 
Chief of Staff." 
The foHowing proclamation had also been issued in the 
meantime to the German people by Marshal Foch: 

"The Allied authorities now assume command 
of your country and require from everyone the most 
exact obedience of orders, laws and regulations as 
they now exist. 

"All public offices will continue to operate under 
the control of the military authorities, officials must 
do their duty and will be obliged to honestly take 
care of the work they are in charge of. Courts will 
continue to function. The inhabitants must refrain 
from speaking and acting in any hostile way against 
the Allied authorities. They must obey all requisi- 
tions which will be ordered in accordance with 
law. Anybody convicted of crime or offense, 
either as an author or accomplice, will be im- 
mediately taken into custody, and tried before a 
Martial Court, Any breach of law against orders 
known by the population as well as any denial of 
obedience will be vigorously punished. This proc- 
lamation sanctions the occupation of your country 
by the Allied armies, shows to all their duties which 
is to help the return to a normal life, by working, 
keeping calm and disciplined. All of you must 
actually work for that end. 

FOCH 
The Marshal of France, 
Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies." 
So it was that late the night of December 7th the Supply 
Train was moving across the Sauer River into Germany, pre- 
pared for the days ahead and realizing to some extent the grea-: 
responsibilities as to conduct and discipline that were to devolve 
upon it as a part of an Army of Occupation on hostile soil, 
among an enemy who might be expected to be as wiiy and 
cunning in peace, as he had been crafty and cruel in war. 

87 



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TRIER 



Sector About Bitburg. 



PART XIV. 

RHINELAND. 
on the mo.n.;„. o, December 7th a W^f'ng detail Jrom 
SroS^Brurrrnro/rK^rXc^ .- at once heen 

few kilometers away ^™^. ^/^f 'grfore the bil etog detail could 
^Zl^'tLTJa i::.Zrt^\"^l'oL^r)t tha? .leepy little 
rornU.;\":n to ten him the wishes o the tr^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ 

One by one the '"\^J"'^"^%°' 'eomms »' °"'' '"<'°' ''"'' 
:fthinTo^ToL^ira?r^ange'menr wSe cLplete for our ar- 

"^^Vhe two days in Oberkail were une.en«ul^hut more^than 

ordered to move to Speicher Maooi Cole witnou ^^^^^ 

ordered the billeting ?«'ft°f°Jfeaa as U was understood 

E.' i",,r;s.,iSir s Hir " "" "" """" 

hPinff eiven wooden bunks and bed sacKs. 

the Kreis of Bitburg. Tripr 

At about the same tm- Company J ' was sent^^to Jne. 

to take care of the Rai^h^^^/^^^^l.^i'^same m^^^^^^ ^° ^^'^ 
from Company "A" was sent on the same 

Railhead at Prum. 



89 



At this time there were many convoys of the train on 
detail bringing Motor Transportation from Dijon to the Divi- 
sion and the Third Army at Coblenz, and, many smaller details 
of trucks which were sent to Coblenz for spare parts. The 
transportation of supplies from the three railheads in the Di- 
visional area to the -various organizations scattered over the 
wide sector occupied by our troops kept the train busy — and 
especially was this true when the desire to keep the transporta- 
tion of the train in perfect condition at all times, led to the 
issuance of an order requiring every driver to put his truck in 
spotless condition after every trip. 

In addition systematic instruction of the entire train was 
conducted by the simple process of holding out of service half 
of the train for instruction. But the great demands on the 
organization for transportation at this time made this impos- 
sible of achievement a large share of the time. However, a 
great amount of instruction in military drill and courtesies was 
given; a school for illiterates was conducted, and a pistol and 
a rifle range were constructed in the hills, outside of Bitburg 
for the practice of the members of the train. 

In addition to this special instruction, a class in boxing and 
wrestling had been organized in Bitburg for Supply Train 
personnel, and basket ball and base ball teams were organized 
by the train to meet the teams from other organizations in 
the Division. 

A liberal policy of permissions adopted at this time by 
General Headquarters gave practically every man in the train 
a chance to go on leave in the next few months — a wide variety 
of choice as to the place of leave being offered — France, Italy, 
Belgium, England, and in Germany to Trier and Coblenz. 

And the system adopted for the entertainment of the troops 
in the towns in which they were billeted was at once tremend- 
ously successful. It provided for the organization of entertain- 
ment troupes by all organizations which in turn gave their 
entertainments around a wide circuit. 

The Supply Train show at first coached by Captain McGee 
and Sergeant Epstein and later by Lieutenant James F. Keel, 
assigned to the train in February, was called "That Different 
Show," It was so successful in its circuit of the Divisional 
Area that after the completion of its tour it was invited to 
show at Kyllburg in honor of Major General Wright, former 
commanding General of the Division, and now commanding the 
First Corps. This performance never actually took place how- 
ever. This sort of entertainment was supplemented by profes- 
sional talent and moving pictures so that almost every night 
saw the large auditorium behind Supply Train Headquarters 
crowded with our men, enjoying some entertainment. 

In the meantime some other changes in the personnel of 
the train had been occurring. Captain C. M. Fuson, Command- 
ing Officer of the Medical Detachment had become ill late in 
December and had been replaced by Captain Christian H. 
Koentz. Five new lieutenants came to the train in the next 
two months and had a wide variety of experience. Lieutenant 
James C. Mcllwain had been put on Special Duty with the 
Division Motor Transport Officer, Lieutenant Neal F. Snell- 
grove had been assigned to duty with Company "E," and im- 
mediately placed on Special Duty with Headquarters of the train 

90 



as Assistant Adjutant. Lieutenant Ralph C. Mason was put on 
duty with Company "D," and Lieutenant Keel was made Enter- 
tainment Officer. Lieutenant Howard D. Dague was put on 
duty with Company "E" and assigned to the additional Special 
Duty of Post Exchange Officer for Bitburg. 

Lieutenant Joseph L. Patton had been transferred from the 
314th Military Police to the train, and placed on duty with 
Company "E" but had not been with the train but a few weeks 
before orders came through directing him to report to the 26th 
Division for return to the States with that Division. 

The general comfort of the train had during this time been 
greatly improved, large and airy mess halls ?nd kitchens being 
erected in Bitburg for our companies, and in addition there was 
a redistribution of billeting areas with a decrease in the number 
of other soldiers in Bitburg, giving our troops much more 
comfort. 

It was in February that rumors began to circulate as to our 
return home which were quickly followed by official announce- 
ment in General Orders from General Headquarters that the 
89th Division was to sail in June. 

It was about this time that the series of games for the 
A. E. F. football championship commenced. The 89th Division 
football team first gained the 7th Corps championship by defeat- 
ing the strong 90th Division team in Wittlich. A fortnight 
later the team defeated the 4th Division team for the champion- 
ship of the 3rd Army, and then went to Paris, where a succes- 
sion of three victories over St. Nazaire, Tours, and the 36th 
Division respectively gave the championship of the American 
Expeditionary Forces to our team, and incidentally brought 
a greatly multiplied number of francs back to their place of 
v>rigin. 

Then followed a quick series of inspections — inspections in 
which the train was somewhat handicapped in comparison with 
most of the other Divisional organizations because of the 
tremendous amount of work it had done since reaching Germany, 
but from each of which it emerged successfully. 

First came the inspection by the Commander of Trains, 
Colonel Whitside, whose office since our arrival in Germany 
had been given the disposition of all Divisional Transportation. 

Then on March 15th the Division Commander, Major General 
Winn inspected and his inspection was followed on April 7th 
by the inspection of the 7th Corps Commander, Major General 
Haan. In that inspection our men just in from long nights 
and days on the roads, appeared for the inspection as im- 
maculately as if they had been passing a week of preparation 
in barracks and lined up for inspection on the Railhead road 
out of Bitburg a column of trucks which were spotless and al- 
most perfect (although shrapnel spattered) despite the fact 
that we had brought most of them through two gruelling cam- 
paigns. 

Preceding the detailed inspection, the train had marched 
in review before the Corps Commander in column of companies 
with the; precision of a trained dough-boy outfit. 

Toward the middle of April it was definitely stated that 
the Division would begin to leave Germany for Brest, France, 
on May 6th and that the movement would be completed by 
May 12th. 

91 



On April 23rd the inpsection of the Division by General 
John J. Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of the American Expedi- 
tionary Forces, took place just outside Trier near the Zeppelin 
Building there. The foot troops of the Division had con- 
centrated around Trier for several days prior to the inspection, 
planning not to return to their old billeting areas, but to leave 
from their new locations about Trier for Brest. 

The Supply Train along with the other trains of the Di- 
vision was to take up its position for the inspection along the 
Wasserbillig-Trier Road, so the start was made before dawn 
of the 23rd, Captain Wilkins being in command of the train 
temporarily during the absence of Major Cole at Nice on sick 
leave. 

The inspection of the Division and presentation of decora- 
tions by the Commander-in-Chief began about 1:00 o'clock, and 
about 3:30 P. M. the Division passed in review to the music of 
the consolidated bands and bugle corps of the Division, and the 
manner in v/hich the troops marched, and the ponderous form- 
ation of the march itself, were so thrilling as to make the whole 
thing almost awe-inspiring. 

Immediately afterward General Pershing inspected the 
transporation of the Division along the Trier-Wasserbillig road, 
with a keen eye, peering at every man in the Supply Train 
as he passed. 

His message to the Commanding Officers of the various 
trains after the conclusion of the inspection was that he wished 
to express his great pleasure at the excellent appearance of 
personnel and material of the trains which showed the pains- 
taking efforts of all. 

In conclusion the Commander-in-Chief addressed as many 
men of the Division as could crowd in the great Zeppelin shed, 
stating in the course of his remarks that he considered the 
89th Division unexcelled by any Division which had entered 
the lines in France. 

The last of the much feared Inspections was over, and the 
train had come through each successfully. This last, the in- 
spection by the Commander-in-Chief, every man realized was 
the final ceremonial in Europe — so on that night of April 23rd 
every man went to his bunk thinking of home, and realizing 
that but a short time would find him back in the States. 



92 



PART IV. 
AND THEN AT LAST 



CHAPTER XV. 
HOME AGAIN. 

Our last few days in Germany, although the weather was 
beautiful, seemed longer to us than weeks had seemed before 
and this was much accentuated when the time of our departure 
was postponed from May 6th to May 13th. 

In those early days of May Lieutenant Scogin, our dental 
officer was transferred to Army Headquarters leaving us to go 
to Coblenz, and being replaced by Captain Tuttle. We learned 
shortly afterward that Lieutenant Scogin was promoted to the 
grade of Captain immediately on his arrival in Coblenz. 
Lieutenant Mason who had been on duty with Company "D" 
was also transferred at this time going to 7th Corps Head- 
quarters at Wittlich. 

A few days before the scheduled departure of the train 
Lieutenant Beraet who in civil life had been a newspaper man 
was given an opportunity by American General Headquarters 
to make a tour of inspection of the S. O. S. and American battle- 
fields in company with about 120 other former newspaper men, 
and he was transferred from the train on the 9th of May going 
to Coblenz to meet the inspection party. 

The historian of this narrative is dependent for the in- 
cidents which ensued on the letter of Captain Ralph McGee, 
commanding officer of Company "E," written by Captain McGee 
on Major Cole's request from notes he made in the course of 
the trip back to the United States. The letter follows: 
"Bitburg to the United States — A Resume. 

"After weeks of rumors, and rumors of rumors, the Di- 
vision received its travel orders, with much mention of the 
mysterious 'D' Day and 'H' Hour. Of course the Supply Train 
was last on the schedule, and had to sprint at the finish at 
that, because trucks were operated until May 11th, moving most 
of the divisional units to their entraining points at Prum, Er- 
dorf and Trier, 

"But at dawn on May 13th the last truck had been swept 
and garnished, oiled and polished, the last bit of salvage dis- 
posed of, the last thousand gallons of gasoline in Germany con- 
sumed in a frantic attempt to. get all the "600 W" out of the 
driver's overcoats; packs had been rolled and billets policed, 
and every private and lieutenant was engaged in the last frat- 
ernizing of the 89th Division. 

"At 7:00 A. M. we embussed for Erdorf, where we stowed 
away on a long troop train chaperoned by the Headquarters 

95 



Troop and Detachment, and Division Headquarters, including 
the Chief of Staff and all the 'G's.' 

"The three days' trip to Brest was eventful, to say the 
least, but none will ever forget it anyhow, so a record of it 
here would be useless. But I humbly wonder whether many of 
us case-hardened sinners, as we policed up France on that trip, 
stopped to watch the masses of white clouds piled up over the 
long lines of poplars, or caught the reflection of white walled 
cottages and blooming fruit trees which the wise old canals 
sent up to us, or understood the patient dumb eyes of the Bret- 
agne peasants whose children scrambled for our chocolate and 
gum. France, assuredly, never was fairer nor lovelier than 
when we crossed to Brest and for once we could truthfully 
call it Sunny France. 

"At Camp Pontenezan, or Camp Duckboard, as it is better 
known, we went through the mill with a vengeance. From 5:00 
P. M. on May 16th, when we arrived, until noon on May 19th 
when we marched for the harbor, we were double timing, from 
the delouser to the quartermaster, from the quartermaster to 
the show-down inspection shed, and three times a day we double 
timed to meals where we ate by the counts, and had a jazz 
band playing all the time so we wouldn't lose the count. We 
have had some rapid medical examinations in our army days, 
but never one like Camp Duckboard, where it was 'One, Two. 
Three,' and at 'Four' you had to be under the shower or you 
miosed your bath. 

"The hike to the dock was long and hot, and packs were 
none too light, but never a man fell out, and down to the small- 
est son of Italy in the last Company, each man sang out his 
name as he passed the checker as though it was the pearly gates 
themselves and St. Peter on guard doing the challenging. 
Certainly, the good ship Rotterdam riding at anchor in the 
roadstead looked like a bit of heaven, as we drove alongside in 
our tender and clambered aboard. 

"During the night of May 19th we lay at anchor, being 
coaled in a leisurely fashion by dusky gentlemen from the 
south, who evidently didn't worry whether we ever sailed or 
not. Finally on the afternoon of May 20th we weighed anchor 
and sailed for Plymouth, England. We arrived at Plymouth on 
the morning of the 21st, and took on board several hundred 
civilians, mostly Americans, including the popular Miss Janis. 
From Plymouth to Hoboken, it was just steady plugging, the 
only excitement being the forbidden crap games which escaped 
the eagle eye of the C. of S., and the romantic adventures of 
Sergeants Wait and Epstein with a dashing brunette in the 
second class. Lieutenant Hachman did pull off some good 
parties, now I think about it, and Sergeant McKenzie conversed 
with the fish more than he should. But for the most, the trip 
was just plain monotony, not even the morning comedy entitled 
"Inspection of Quarters" or "A Bad Half Hour with the Chief 
of Staff" aroused enough interest to start a fight. 

"When we poked our nose into New York Harbor at sun- 
down May 30th everyone felt a darn sight better, and even 
though the Goddess of Libery was sulking around the corner, 
we slept that night with the pleasantest of dreams. In the 
morning the fun began. The Mayor's committee was on hand 
with a launch and a jazz band and a special delegation to wel- 

96 



come Aaron Papish himself. As we were warped into our dock 
next to the Imperator another band and the faithful women 
of the Red Cross greeted our ship. Of course we went to Camp 
Upton, because it was farthest from New York City, and of 
course we had an interminable wait at the Long Island Ferry- 
surrounded by banana peels and heat, and of course no one at 
Upton knew anything about our arrival and cared less, but in 
the language of Bill Shakespeare, 'What the Hell, Bill, what the 
Hell'; we were home in our own 'Etats Unis,' and nothing 
else mattered. 

"At Upton we had nothing to do and we did it very well. 
Lieutenant Snellgrove and Sergeant O'Donnell pretended to be 
busy and inconsiderately pounded away at our long-suffering 
typewriters and in general were a public nuisance. But some- 
how they got the organization unscrambled and by June 7th 
goodbyes had been said and each detachment was on its way 
to its home camp for discharge. 

"The 314th Supply Train was only a memory. 

"Buddy, you who have cussed everything and everybody in 
the service from the C. in C. down to your bunkie, and have 
vowed that wiien you get out of the army you would 'get' the guy 
who ruined your chances and would expose the high crimes 
and misdemeanors of the 'higher-ups,' Buddy, aren't the 
memories of your army days the brightest in your life?" 

Accompanying Captain McGee's letter to the historian was 
a note which contained a sentence that crystallizes the senti- 
ments most of us had as the Supply Train was being scattered 
back over the United States from whence it had come. That 
sentence was as follows: "I think that year in Europe the hap- 
piest in my life and the friends I made in the army the ones 
I w?nt' to keep for good." 

This narrative could not better be conpluded than by quot- 
ing the message of Major Cole which was distributed to every 
member of the Supply Train in Bitburg, April 30, 1919, just be- 
fore the organization was preparing for the long journey which 
would conclude its active service for our country. This message 
was as follows:, 

"Bitburg. Germany, 30 April, 1919. 
"To the Officers and Men of the 314th Motor Supply Train: 

"The close of another month will probably see us back once 
more in the land we have loved well enough to be happy to 
depart therefrom for a time to help in making its existence safe. 

"And we will return to civil life and its duties with the 
realization that we have completed a work and that it is well 
done. Reflections on a work well done furnish its own reward. 

"But before the 314th Motor Supply Train returns to the 
States with a consequent dissolution of its members to every 
corner of our country, I am anxious to- say a word of ap- 
preciation. 

"To the officers of the train who have made it a compact, 
living organization, knowing no failure and ever serving its 
Division efficiently, I extend in fullest measure my thanks. 
It would have been impossible to select a more faithful group 
of officers to aid in the administration of the organization. 

Of the work of the First Sergeants, and of the Clerical, 
Mess, Supply and Medical Forces, too much good cannot be 

97 



said. They have ever been faithful to their officers as their 
work has shown, and have known no failure. 

"But above all does my heartfe t appreciation go out to the 
Section Leaders, Truck Drivers and their Assistants, who have 
tirelessly labored long days and nights without rest over dark, 
slippery roads, constantly under shell fire — and who have al- 
ways achieved their mission if it was humanly possible, no mat- 
ter how fatiguing' or perilious it was. 

"In conclusion, then we must realize that the honor of be- 
ing a part of the great machine which crushed Germany's power 
has brought with it a responsibility — the necessity of facing our 
problems in civil life with the same resolution with which we 
hive met them in the Victorious American Army. 

Walter C. Cole." 



98 



APPENDIX ''A." 
KOSTERS AND CASUALTY LIST. 



I 



ROSTER, HEADQUARTERS DETACHMENT. 

COMMANDING OFFICER: 

Major Walter C. Cole, 426 Sth Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

ADJUTANT: 

1st Lieutenant Milton E. Bernet, 17 Windermere Place, 
St. Louis, Missouri. 
SUPPLY OFFICER: 

1st Lieutenant George E. McKinney, Adairville, Kentucky. 

OFFICERS ON DUTY: 

2nd Lieutenant James F. Keel, International Time Record- 
ing Co., Endicott, New York. 
1st Lieutenant James C. Mcllwain, 324 Collins Avenue, 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

SERGEANT MAJOR: 

Sergeant 1st Class William E. O'Donnell, 4834 Labadie 
Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri. 
SUPPLY SERGEANT: 

Q. M. Sergeant Stanley Epstein, 4525 Olive Street, St. Louis, 
Missouri. 
SPECIAL DUTY WITH DIVISION M. T. O.: 

Q. M. Sergeant Wilson P. H. Turner, 421 Kingshighway, 
St. Louis, Missouri. 
PERSONNEL CLERK: 

Sergeant Leonard T. Waterman, Lebanon, Nebraska. 
DISPATCHER: 

Sergeant Gail F. Belshe, Eldon, Missouri. 
CHAUFFEURS: 

Corporal Ephriam J. Linstorm, 203 Burlington Avenue, 

York Nebraska. 
Corporal Lorance C. Olsen, Stanton, Nebraska. 

COOK: 

Cook Tliomas M. Griffin, 413 South 5th Street, Beatrice, 
Nebraska. 
ASSISTANT COOK: 

Private Earl R. Reynolds, Staplehurst, Nebraska. 
STENOGRAPHER AND FILE CLERK: 

Private Alvin C. Brandt, Foristell. Missouri. 
MAIL ORDERLY: 

Private Albert P. Meinzer, 325 North 14th Street, Fort 
Dodge, Iowa. 
MESSENGER: 

Private George E. Clem, New Stanton, Pennsylvania. 
SERGEANT: 

Harry E. Stayner, Edgar, Nebraska. 
CORPORAL: 

Norman F. Bartlett Clayville, New York. 



100 



I 



MEDICAL DETACHMENT, 314TH MOTOR SUPPLY 

' TRAIN. 
SURGEON: 

Captain Christian H, Koentz>, Onaga, Kansas. 

DENTAL SURGEON: 

1st Lieutenant Clyde W. Scogin, Denver, Colorado. 

FIRST SERGEANT: 

Sergeant 1st Class William C. White, Decaturville, Ten- 
nessee. 

DUTY SERGEANT: 

Sergeant Robert M. Thoennes, 1407 Grove Street, La- 
Fayette, Indiana. 

CLERK: 

Private 1st Class Norman L. Manley, Axtell, Kansas. 

AMBULANCE DRIVER: 

Private 1st Class John R. Gilson, 3145 Olive Street, Kansas 
City, Missouri. 

DENTAL ASSISTANT: 

Private 1st Class William E. Rice, Greenmountam, Iowa. 

AMBULANCE ORDERLY: 

Private Charles C. Nefsky, 1611 C Street, Lincoln, Nebraska. 

PRIVATES: 

Private Roy L. Brooks, 1623 Central Ave., Kansas City, 

Missouri. 
Private Harry Davis. Galena Kansas. 
Private John B. Grattan, 24 Highland Ave., Minneapolis, 

Minnesota. 
Private 1st Class Grant Daily, 1904 Central, LaFayette, 

Indiana. 
Private Christ Sorensen. Farmington, Minnesota. 

DENTAL SURGEON: 

Captain Ovid S. Tuttle, Santa Rosa, California. 

DENTAL ASSISTANT: 

Private George E. Pidge, 1620 Polk Street, San Francisco, 
California. 

CLERK: 

Private 1st Class Edwin G. Hammel. Clay Center, Kansas. 



COMPANY ''A," 314TH MOTOR SUPPLY TRAIN. 

COMMANDING OFFICER: 

Captain Burton F. Dickey, Huron,' South Dakota. 

LIEUTENANT: 

1st Lieutenant William M. Pierson, Morristown, Indiana. 

FIRST SERGEANT: ^^ ^ 

Sergeant 1st Class Harry M. Wait, 219 County Street, 
Waukegan, Illinois. 

101 



ASSISTANT TRUCKMASTERS: 

Sergeant John W. Campbell, York, Nebraska. 

Sergeant Francis B. McDonnell, Indlanola, Nebraska. 

Sergeant Floyd E. Swanson. Slilckley, Nebraska. 
SERGEANT MECHANIC: 

Sergeant Frank E. Griffee, Blue Rapids, Kansas. 
CLERK: 

Sergeant Edwin L. Brown. Troy, Kansas. 
MESS SERGEANT: 

Sergeant Bryce E. Tracy, Henderson, Nebraska. 
CORPORAL MECHANICS: 

Corporal Carl Christiansen, Plainview, Nebraska. 

Corporal Henry P. McDonald, Clearwater, Nebraska. 

Corporal Fred Richardson, Plainview, Nebraska. 

CHAUFFEURS: 

Corporal John W. Abbott. Oneil, Nebraska. 

Corporal William A. Aldrup, Geneva, Nebraska. 

Corporal Francis E. Baker, Lushton, Nebraska. 

Corporal Raymond N. Bivens, Fairmont, Nebraska. 

Corporal Harry B. Brower, Geneva, Nebraska. 

Corporal Andrew C. Collins, 33 So. 3rd Ave., Illion, New York. 

Corporal Ernest S. Erickson, Ong, Nebraska. 

Corporal Ernest G. Ginther. Bartley, Nebraska. 

Corporal William Graneman, Glenville, Nebraska. 

Corporal Robert C. Harms, York. Nebraska. 

Corporal Edward Heinz, Sutton Nebraska. 

Corporal James J. Kluver, Glenville, Nebraska. 

Corporal Charles S. Lee, Orchard, Nebraska. 

Corporal George W. Lee, Niobrara, Nebraska. 

Corporal Ernest J. Lewien, Saronville Nebraska. 

Corporal Melvin J. McCarthy, Inez, Nebraska. 

;Corporal George W. Monson. Anoka, Nebraska. 

Corporal Walter C. Nowka, Inland, Nebraska. 

Corporal Jens S. Petersen, Cordova, Nebraska. 

Corporal Walter F. Rhodes, Trumbull, Nebraska. 

Corporal Herbert J. Roth, Niobrara, Nebraska. 

Corporal Herbert E. Ruhl, McCool, Nebraska. 

Corporal Alvin L. Runte, York, Nebraska. 

Corporal William H. Trautman, Sutton, Nebraska. 

Corporal Walter A. Voss, York, Nebraska. 

Corporal Tony W. Weskamp Indianola, Nebraska. 

Corporal William B. Wilger, Exeter, Nebraska. 

Corporal Julius Walstrom, Gresham, Nebraska. 
COOKS: 

Cook Walter C. Fitzke, Harvard, Nebraska. 

Cook Albert R. Schneider, Indianola, Nebraska. 

ASSISTANT CHAUFFEURS: 

Private 1st Class Wilhelm Brackhan, Waco Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Frederick Cavagnaro, 6 Purice Street, Bos- 
ton, Massachusetts. 
Private 1st Class James C. Frantz, Edgar, Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Herman Hinx, Arapahoe, Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Earl B. Jenkinson. Walnut, Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Charles A. Kaul, Elgin, Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Leo R. Koehn, Exeter, Nebraska. 

102 



Private 1st Class Anton Molilman, Glenville, Nebraska. 

Private 1st Class Henry C. Stolldorf, Sutton, Nebraska. 

Private 1st Class John R. Stowe, Beaver City, Nebraska. 

Private Arthur L. Bradstreet, 61 Salem Street, Lawrence, 
Massachusetts. 

Private George P. Branyon, 1909 Carolina Ave., Bessemer, 
Alabama. 

Private Leroy Brooks, 13 Fairfield Ave., Bellevue, Kentucky. 

Private Victor R. Carrico, Lebanon, Kentucky. 

Private Carmelo Catinella. Norfolk, Connecticut. 

Private Alfred Cavannah, Oakville, Connecticut. 

Private Antonio Cedrone, 325 E. 120th St., New York City. 

Private Patrick J. Comerford, 41 East St., Wallingford. 
Connecticut. 

Private Frank Coniglio, 419 W. 24th St., New York City. 

Private Charles Conrade, 724 Chuncey St., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Private Peter L. Cosgrove, Lakeville, Connecticut. 

Private Edgar P. Courtney, Logan. Iowa. 

Private Antonio Dagostine, 59 H St. N. E., Washington, D. C. 

Private John Duff, 44 Penn St., Brooklyn, New York. 

Private George Ether, 84 2nd St.. New York. 

Private Dossie A. Fortner, Columbus, Kentucky. 

Private Midas L. Friedley, Carrothers, Ohio. 

Private John M. McLoney, Hinton, Kentucky. 

Private George Meadors. New Baden, Texas. 

Private James Morris. 7337 8th Ave., N. W. Seattle Wash. 

Private Fred Schmidt, 434oA Manchester Ave., St. Louis, 
Missouri. 

Private Herman J. Sjostedt, Harvard, Nebraska. 

Private Josh E. Smith, 4718 Alcott St., E. Chicago, Indiana. 

Private Thomas R. Steel, Little Rock, Pulaski, Arkansas. 

Private Kevork Tavajian, Cor. Barnum and Central, Bridge- 
port, Connecticut. 

Private Lloyd Winsor, 913 Tracy Ave., Kansas City, Mo. 

Private Bernard D. Clancy, 216 Bainbridge St., Brooklyn, 
New York. 

ATTACHED TO COMPANY "A": 

Private Joseph M. Puskar, Imperial, Pennsylvania. 

Private Homer E. Thomas,. Fairfax, Alabama. 

Private John A. Thieie, 435 East Thompason Street, 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 
Private Lloyd M. Talkington, Folsom, West Virginia. 
Private Frank E. Rogers, 943 Paxton St., Harrisburg, Pa 
Corporal Eric E. Nelson, Bisbee, Arizona. 
Private Juan Beneviedes. Sajaloma, Arizona. 
Corporal Thomas Mihalis, Caspar, Wyoming. 
Sergeant August Hearst 3814A Olive St., St. Louis, Mo. 
Private William G. Clevenger. Logan, Iowa. 
Private 1st Class John Caltvedt, McCallsburg, Iowa. 
Private George Billingsley, 2062 Woodberry St., Baltimore, 

Maryland. 

103 



COMPANY "B," 314TH MOTOR SUPPLY TRAIN. 

COMMANDING OFFICER: 

Captain Walter S. Fulkerson, Norborne, Missouri. 

OFFICER ON DUTY: 

ist Lieutenant Logan F. Hachman, Evansville, Illinois, 

FIRST SERGEANT: 

Sergeant Frank L. Wilcox, Arborville. Nebraska. 

SfiCTION LEADERS: 

Sergeant Charles M. Cox, 323 West 6th St., York, Nebraska. 
Corporal Roland H. Kreutz, Harvard, Nebraska. 
Corporal Frank W. Taylor, Clay Center, Nebraska. 

COMPANY CLERK: 

Seigeant Glen. R. Lundeen, Shickley, Nebraska. 

MESS AND PROPERTY SERGEANT: 

Sergeant Adolph O. Smaha, York, Nebraska. 

CHIEF MECHANIC: 

Sergeant Albert P. Korber, Albuquerque. New Mexico. 

MECHANICS: 

Corporal Lindsay J. C, Barr, York. Nebraska. 
Corporal Glynn Bartlett, Ashland, Maine. 
Corporal John M. Coxen, Passover, Missouri. 
Corporal Fred Flesner, Inland. Nebraska. 
Corporal Mark A. Skipton, Shickley, Nebraska. 

DISPATCHERS: 

Corporal Harry A. Frank, Harvard, Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class John P. Stengler, 297 So. Pulski Street, 
Baltimore, Maryland. 

COOKS: 

Cook Fred J. Birk Herman, Missouri. 

Cook Ewald T. Nuss, Sutton, Nebraska. 
CHAUFFEURS: 

Corporal Billie W. Belt, Winsor, Missouri. 

Corporal Harley Buffington, 312 West 6th Street, Sioux 
City Iowa. 

Corporal George Buttell, Sutton, Nebraska. 

Corporal John H. Ehlers, Dewese, Nebraska. 

Corporal Wenzell Erickson, Saronville, Nebraska. 

Corporal Walter J. Fees, Waco, Nebraska. 

Corporal James H. Gay, Fairfield, Nebraska. 

Corporal Howard Henderson, Arborville, Nebraska. 

Corporal John F. Hinrichs, Glenvil, Nebraska. 

Corporal James F. Kassik, Milligan, Nebraska. 

Corporal Bohumil Kottas, Milligan, Nebraska. 

Corporal Floyd Marsden, Gresham, Nebraska. 

Corporal Fred Messerli, Norfork, Nebraska. 

Corporal David M. Mohler, York, Nebraska. 

Corporal Leslie M. Moore, Ohiowa. Nebraska. 

Corporal George H. Perkins Fairmont. Nebraska. 

Corporal Roy Troyer, Shickley, Nebraska. 

Corporal George H. Ubben, Hildreth, Nebraska. 

Corporal Felix Wholstenholm, Exeter, Nebraska. 

104 



Corporal Everett L. Wright, Harvard, Nebraska. 

Corporal William Zimbelman, Sutton, Nebraska. 

Private 1st Class Jim Autry, Silvesbend, Texas. 

Private 1st Class Philip F. DeSantis. 306 Pitcher Street, 

Utica New York. 
Private 1st Class Moses A. Dickson,, Columbia Street, 

Dublin, Georgia. 
Private 1st Class Focke Diener, Macon, Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class David Dimond, Leed Junction, Maine. 
Private 1st Class Paul S. Dodge, 1558 58th Street, Brook- 
lyn, New York. 
Private 1st Class Joseph B. Lattus, Hickman, Kentucky. 
Private 1st Class Frank Lolling. Glenvil. Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Emil J. Schlutsmeier McCook, Nebraska. 
Private Dan F. Bauer, Brownstovni, Illinois. 
Private Richard S. Hawes, 27 Windemere Place, St. Louis, 

Missouri. 
Private Jerome W. Minnick, Exeter, Nebraska. 
Private Morris G. Sypherd, Route 5, Allentown, Pa. 
Private John H. VonSpreckelson, Clay Center, Nebraska. 
ASSISTANT COOKS: 

Private 1st Class Emil L. Skalka, Spring Ranch, Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Philip Stolldorf, Edgar, Nebraska. 
ASSISTANT CHAUFFEURS: 

Private Walter A. Armstrong, 2516 West Maine Street, 

Louisville, Kentucky. 
Private Fred H. Baker. Big Stone Gap, Virginia. 
Private Axel Carlson, St. Peter, Minnesota. 
Private Lazar Danich, Buhl, Minnesota. 
Private Anthony Datria. Brooklyn, New York. 
Private Daniel Davidow 2222 Croton Ave., New York City. 
Private Manuel DeSilvia, Plymouth, Massachussets. 
Private Leone DiAqui, Chambering Ave., New York City. 
Private Palmarino Didonato, 77 Morgan St., Hartford, Conn. 
Private Gaetano Diprima, 108 Hamburg St., Brooklyn, N. Y. 
Private Guiseppe DiRusso, 237 E. 150th St., New York City. 
Private Giovanni Gigiello, 423 W. Broadway, New York City. 
Private Columbus B. Glasscoe Celeste, Texas. 
Private John W. Spear, Vienna, Maryland. 
Private John R. Stover, E. Water St. Mill Hall, Pennsylvania. 
Private John H. Taylor, Geneva. Nebraska. 
Private George F. Vane, 201 Henry St., Cambridge, 

Maryland. 
Private William Waltz, 708 So. Maine Street, Greenwood, 

Mississippi. 
Detached Service— INSTRUCTOR AT TECHNICAL SCHOOL: 

Corporal Dara S. Mohler, York, Nebraska. 
Special Duty— SPARE PARTS MAN FOR DIVISION: 

Sergeant 1st Class Frank L. Pinckney, 156 No. Oak Park 

Ave. Oak Park, Illinois. 
Special Duty— CHAUFFEUR FOR COMMANDER OF TRAINS: 
Sergeant Christ H. Lindhoy, 2112 No. Keystone Ave., 

Chicago, Illinois. 

105 



Special Duty— ASSISTANT PERSONNEL CLERK, Hq. 314th 
M. S. T.: 

Corporal Roscoe C. Hitchcock, 2107 Lincoln Ave., York, 
Nebraska. 
Special Duty— RADIATOR REPAIR MAN AT 390th R. U.: 

Corporal Adolph A. Recht, Edgar, Nebraska. 
Special Duty— INSTRUCTOR OF SCHOOL OF ILLITERATES: 

Private John W. Dignan," 5752 South Winchester Avenue, 
Chicago, Illinois. 
ASSISTANT CHAUFFEURS: 

Private 1st Class William H. O'Neil, Whitinsville. Mass. 

Private John W. McCaslin, West Helena, Arkansas. 

Priva e Ralph J. Ready, Worces er, Mass. 

Private Luther H. Somerville, Lost Creek, West Virginia. 

Private James W. Walker, Burkeville. Virginia. 

Private Marius Willadsen, Granite Canon, Wyoming. 



COMPANY ^^C," 314TH MOTOR SUPPLY TRAIN. 

Name and Rank Designation Home Address. 
CAPTAIN: 

Orr, Caleb W^ On D. S. Uni., Piqua, O. 

of Grenoble, France, since March 3, 
1919. 

1st LIEUTENANT: 

McGuffey, Erie M Comdg. Co., Barthell, Ky. 

SERGEANT 1st CLASS: 

Baker, Bruce B Truckmaster, Curtis, Nebr. 

SERGEANTS: 

Best. George W Ass't Truckmaster, Oxford, Nebr. 

Edsall, Irving K Mess Sergeant Superior, Nebr. 

Isgrig, Earl W Chief Mechanic, Tekamah, Nebr. 

Russell, Lewis Ass't Truckmaster, Superior, Nebr. 

Rustow, Hugo A Clerk. Superior, Nebr. 

Watkins, Buster Ass't Truckmaster, Silver City, 

CORPORALS: New Mexico. 

Bean, Arlo R Chauffeur, Davenport, Nebr. 

Bowes, Joseph L Chauffeur, Nora, Nebr. 

Bugenhagen, Otto C Chauffeur, Plainview, Nebr. 

Burlingame, Charles L. .. .Chauffeur, 4453 Laclede Ave., 

St. Louis, Mo. 

Clayton, Thomas A Chauffeur, Bertrand, Nebr. 

Cross, Arthur R Chauffeur, Moorefield, Nebr. 

Demaree, Norman L Chauffeur, Stanton, Nebr. 

Desehns, Floyd M Chauffeur, Edison, Nebr. 

Donigan, William J Chauffeur, Plainview, Nebr. 

Fair, Willard J Chauffeur, Hardy, Nebr. 

Franzen. Fred W Chauffeur, Windside, Nebr. 

Fullner, Paul H Chauffeur. Stanton, Nebr. 

Present sk. in Evac. Hosp. 14 since 

February 21, 1919. 



10G 



Goosic, Charles A Chauffeur, Hardy Nebr. 

Prav Rrnest F Chauffeur, bupenoi, ^eor. 

Hansef EmU W Ass't Mechanic, NeMgh, Nebr. 

SoSart ' Henry J Chauffeur, Plainview, Nebr. 

?asels EdwaTd G Chauffeur, ^^.^^t^^^ S'^' 

Marcus Jimael G Chauffeur, Oakland, Nebr. 

ZZTtiZL G Chauffeur, ^'^^'^..^^ Ty 

McWiUiams. Wallace ....Chauffeur, 0^^,-,%^.^ Nebr 

MiririiPton Howard T ...Chauffeur, So. Siou^ City, JNeor. 

Mnv^l Haro M ... Chauffeur, Westport, S. Dak. 

Moy.e, Haro.a . . ._ rhauffpnr Elwood, Nebr. 

Mueller, Lorenzo H ^^H^^l^,' PUger Nebr. 

Peterson, Henry J "^HITIk. in S. O. S. n'osp. since 

March 18, 1919. 

Phillins Spmuel W Chauffeur, Smithfield Nebr. 

pfckrel Henry V Chauffeur, Moorefield, Nebr. 

Fickrei. J^eniy v. rhnnffenr Clarkson, Nebr. 

Podany, Frank A Cliauitear, i^.i^ti^ Npbr 

Robinson, Robert D Ass't Mechanic. ^^f.^^fj^" ^ebr' 

Stagemeyer, William A. .. Chauffeur, YraSoe Nebr 

Stagemeyer, William F. .. Chauffeur, HoXook Nebr 

Walker. Edward B Chauffeur, ^ Aneus' Nebr' 

White Ralph J Chauffeur, Angus, Nebr. 

COOKS ■ 

B^g'^^Ro'V W ^'^^^- . . . ABS>t Chauffeur, Redwood City Calif. 
rrfi^y^^ToseTh A Ass. Chauffeur, «3^BMcsh.re^Aye._.^ 

Krelmke. Otto H Ass't Chauffeur, „ J'flf ''''"'' 

Legan, Floyd K Ass't Chauffeur, 540 Te^ntoJ^t, ^^^.^ 

Mccombs, Thomas J Ass't Chauffeur, ^^1^ M^-J^.f -' ^, 

Pickhinke, Bernard A Ass't Chauffeur, Howe'ls, Nebr. 

Podany, Stephen J Ass't Chauffeur, ^larks™' Nebr' 

Ratert. George E Ass't Chauffeur, S'^iZ?' sV 

Robinson, Stewart J Ass't Chauffeur, 1429 H°;;«j,'^'J.g^;'p^ 

Smith, Roy C Ass't Chauffeur, Beayer W Nebr. 

Weller, William F Ass't Chauffeur, 1323 N^ Df^f^^^^t^^ 

Witzka. William, Jr Ass't Chauffeur, Pierce, Nebr. 

PRIVATES: „ ^T„lcf,ri Nebr 

^,Z!'Z^.y::::::^\ S=r' 201 .J£^ l'""^ 

— -"- ^ fbl^nfsk"" incase Ho^Ti "^ 

Jan. 22, 1919. ^, . ,^ _ 

Hadden, Samuel M Ass't Chauffeur. ^38 ^MouUon Jt, ^^^ 

Jackson, Andrew W Ass't Chauffeur, ^^^ ^e^-^^* \-. 

Kamor, Thomas As:,t ^|^--uri-ai, p^.^fpr Nebr 

Krueger, Chris. A. W Ass't Chaufteur, F^^ ^^^^^ 

Larson, Carl A Asst Chauffeur. Aurelia, iowa. 

107 



Lopez, Jefferson Ass't Chauffeur, Fort Allen, La. 

McQuillan, Fred J Ass't Chauffeur, 342 E. 42nd St., 

New York, N. Y. 
Niedermeyer, Henry W... Ass't Chauffeur, 1820 E. 55th St., 

Cleveland, O. 

Russell, Francis H Ass't Chauffeur, Booneville, Ark. 

Rutan, George C Ass't Chauffeur, 24 Cumavar St., 

San Jose, Calif. 

Taylor, Albert R Ass't Chauffeur 231 No. Chester St., 

Baltimore, Md. 

Wolf, Frank A Ass't Chauffeur, 213 So. Mount St., 

Baltimore, Md, 

Wolman. Sidney N Ass't Chauffeur, Woodbine, Md. 

Wright, Claude O Ass't Chauffeur, Commerce, Texas. 

SERGEANT : 

Collette, Alza J Ass't Truckmaster, Superior, Nebr. 



COMPANY "B,'' 314TH MOTOR SUPPLY TRAIN. 

COMMANDING OFFICER: 

Captain Frank C. Wilkins, Ashville. Ohio. 

OFFICERS ON DUTY: 

1st Lieutenant John W. Upp, Jr., 107 Abon Road, 
Schenectady, New York. 

2nd Lieutenant, Ralph C. Mason, Montgomery, Alabama, 
R. F. D. No. 1. 

SERGEANT: 

Sergeant 1st Class James V. Cain. Republican City. Nebr. 

SECTION LEADERS: 

Sergeant Ralph A. Murdoch, Arapahoe, Nebraska. 
Sergeant Earl W. Proctor, Elwood, Nebraska. 
Sergeant Charles B. Walls, Oxford, Nebraska. 

SERGEANT MECHANIC: 

Sergeant Oscar Ziegler, Riverton, Nebraska. 

SUPPLY AND PROPERTY SERGEANT: 

Sergeant Fred J. Fuller, Cowles, Nebraska. 

SERGEANT ON DS. 

Sergeant Richard F. Beguelin, Huis Kamp Ave., Jennings, 
Missouri. 
CLERK: 

Corporal Otto P. Hueftle, Eistis, Nebraska. 

CHAUFFEURS: 

Corporal Yura L. Arehart, Huntley, Nebraska. 
Corporal Charlie E. Armstrong, Wilsonville, Nebraska. 
Corporal William E. Brune, Blue Hill, Nebraska. 
Corporal Alfred O. Buschow, Blue Hill, Nebraska. 
Corporal Henry G. Butenschoen, Upland, Nebraska. 
Corporal Alfred G. Engelhardt, Blue Hill, Nebraska. 
Corporal Leonard H. Gupton, Oxford, Nebraska. 

108 



Corporal Robert L. Hunsicker, Red Cloud, Nebraska. 
Corporal Leland C. Jones, Hendley, Nebraska. 
Corporal Edgar W. Koch, Tuttle, Okla. 
Corporal George C. Laverick, Wilsonville, Nebraska. 
Corporal George W. Loy, Ragan, Nebraska. 
Corporal Carl W. Mainquist, Magnet, Nebraska. 
Corporal Millard Marymee, Bladen, Nebraska. 
Corporal Harry C. Menagh, Barada, Nebraska. 
Corporal Ami Meyers, Wilsonville, Nebraska. 
Corporal Willie E. Olson, Holdrege, Nebraska. 
Corporal Homer R. Overton, Wheaton, Missouri. 
Corporal Anton Pavelka, Bladen, Nebraska. 
Corporal John F. Poehlman, Mascot, Nebraska. 
Corporal Eddie Redfern, Wilsonville, Nebraska. 
Corporal Boyd C. Rosenfelt, Cambridge, Nebraska. 
Corporal Charley F. Schroder, Huntley, Nebraska. 
Corporal Edward A. Steffen, Red Cloud, Nebraska. 
Corporal Joseph Traphagan, McCook, Nebraska. 
Corporal William Vinzant, Smithfield, Nebraska. 
Corporal Fred W. Voigt, Bloomington, Nebraska. 
• Corporal Walter F. Wanner. Oxford, Nebraska. 
Corporal Charles R. Watts, Farnam, Nebraska. 
Corporal Wyman H. Williams, Beaver City, Nebraska. 
Corporal Edward A. Willy, Orleans, Nebraska. 

COOKS: 

Cook Ray J. Betzer, Campbell, Nebraska. 
Cook Fred Rippen. Campbell, Nebraska. 

ASSISTANT CHAUFFEURS: 

Private 1st Class Edwin H. Clark, West Jefferson, Ohio. 
Private 1st Class Roy R. Dunlap, Franklin, Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Henry T. Etherton, Eustis, Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Emil Frey, Gu de Rock, Nebraska 
Private 1st Class Paul H. Hoesch, Huntley, Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Robert E. Keffer, Inavale, Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Peter Koch, Campbell, Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Edward Newcomb Cambridge, Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Ellery L. Pearson, Atlanta, Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Rudolph L. Sundquist, Holdrege, Nebr. 
Private 1st Class Lee O. Vandervort, Indianola, Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Virgil I. Walburn Bladen, Nebraska. 
Private Daniel Falvey, Butler, Kentucky. 
Private Glady Glazier, Savanna, Oklahoma. 
Private William O. Humphry, Highland Park, Michigan, 

196 W. Buena Vista St. 
Private Ephraim James, 727 S. Church, Murfreesboro, Tenn. 
Private Homer C. Klepper, Mayport. Pa. 
Private Charles A. McGowan, Ansonia, Conn. Jewett St. 
Private Charles A. McKane, 55 Prospect Ave., Middletown, 

New York. 
Private Emmet E. McLaughlin, 1413 Dupont Avenue, 

Minneapolis, Minnesota. 
Private James McLaughlin, 150 Liberty St., New York City. 
Private Louis E. McLaughlin, West Main St., Caledonia. 

New York. 
Private Albert A. Mallon, 46 Selkirk St.. Buffalo, New York. 
Private Santo Mancini, 22 Wilbur St., Fort Chester, N. Y. 

109 



Private Nicola Manna, 2 Read St., Milford, Massachussets. 
Private Joseph B. Manning, 846 Third Ave., New York City. 
Private Joseph F. Martin, 194 Columbia Ave., Cumberland, 

Maryland. 
Private Hector J. Melanson, 278 Park St., Gardner, Mass. 
Private Francisco Mele, 489 College Ave., New York City. 
Private Herman F. Meyer, Oakland, Nebraska, 
Private Harry Modos, 153 W. 66th St., New York City. 
Private Eugene A. MoUoy, 547 Leonard St., Brooklyn, N. Y. 
Private Raymond B. Praytor, Benton, Arkansas. 
Private Virgil C. Seckel, Bucyrus, Ohio, 610 S. Walnut St. 
Private Charles G. Tedrick, Clear Springs, Maryland. 
Private John S. Weatherred, Coleman, Texas. 
ATTACHED: 

Private Virgil D, Struble, Ass't Chauffeur. Aledo, Illinois, 

R, F. D, No, 4. 
Private 1st Class John R. Bexley, Ass't Chauffeur, St. 

Charles, Georgia. 
Private Henry U. Lane. Ass't Chauffeur, Clem, Georgia, 

R. F. D. No. 2. 
Corporal Joseph J. Sharp, Chauffeur, Chicago, Illinois, 

6914 Ridge Boulevard. 
Corporal Revel H. Stutts, Chauffeur, Killen, Alabama. 
Private 1st Class Samuel H. Sweeney, Ass't Chauffeur, 

Seneca, Lasalle, Illinois. 
Private Paul R. Tayrien, Ass't Chauffeur, Okesa, Oklahoma. 



COMPANY ''E/' 314TH MOTOR SUPPLY TRAIN. 

COMMANDING OFFICER: 

Captain Ralph McGee, U. S. Sub-Treasury, San Francisco, 
California. 
OFFICER ON DUTY: 

2nd Lieutenant Neal F. Snellgrove, 21 Hill Avenue, Elgin, 

Illinois. 
FIRST SERGEANT: 

Sergeant John W. Trenchard, Cambridge, Nebraska. 
SECTION LEADERS: 

Sergeant Elmer L. Bunger, Upland, Nebraska. 

Sergeant Herbert H. Scheibel, Atwood, Illinois. 

Sergeant Chester S. McKenzie, York, Nebraska. 

Corporal Thomas F, Ward, R. F. D. No. 2, Marion, Nebraska. 
COMPANY CLERK: 

Sergeant Philip W. Horst, R. F. D. No. 2, Osceola, Nebraska. 
MESS AND PROPERTY SERGEANT: 

Sergeant Francis J. Farrell, McCook, Nebraska. 
CHIEF MECHANIC: 

Sergeant William Kearney, David City, Nebraska. 
MECHANICS: 

Corporal Hubert F. Alt, R. F. D. No. 1, Shelby. Nebraska. 

Corporal Albert Johnson, R. F. D. No. 3, Stromsburg, Nebr. 

Private 1st Class Thomas L. Trout, 832 11th St., Reading, 
Pennsylvania. 

110 



DISPATCHERS: 

Corpora Ernsst J. Bassett. 816 N. Minn. Ave., Hastings, 

Nebraska. 
Corporal Bernard F. Shafer, R. No. 1, Bland, Missouri. 

COOKS: 

Cook Earl A. Bacon, 555 National Ave., Superior, Nebr. 
Cook Fred Eckhardt, 302 South Bell Ave., Hastings, Nebr. 

CHAUFFEURS: 

Corporal Elmer F. Anderson, R. F. D. No. 5, Holdredge, 

Nebraska. 
Corporal Charles M. Austin, McCook, Nebraska. 
Corporal Ray D. Braithwait, Shelby, Nebraska. 
Corporal Lawrence F. Branting, R. F. D. No. 4, Stromsburg, 

Nebraska. 
Corporal Sander P. Chindgren, Stromsburg, Nebraska. 
Corporal Alvin Christiansen, R. F. D. No. 1, Upland, 

Nebraska. 
Corporal William J. Daniels, Battle Creek, Nebraska. 
Corporal Ralph E. Dover, Madison, Nebraska. 
Corporal Wendel J. Duman, 334 Garretson Avenue, Sioux 

City, Iowa. 
Corporal Harry E. Gockley, Peru, Nebraska. 
Corporal John L. Goldenstein, R. No. 4. Hastings. Nebraska. 
Corporal Martin G. Goldenstein, R. P. D. No. 2, Glenville, 

Nebraska. 
Corporal Lester L. Ground, 328 East 6th St., Hastings, 

Nebraska. 
Corporal Elmer P. Hanquist, Polk, Nebraska. 
Corporal Frank N. Kaiser, R. No. 1, Juniata, Nebraska. 
Corporal Edward J. Lofenborg, McCook, Nebraska. 
Corporal Bernhard T. Mattson, R. F. D. No. 3, Winside, 

Nebraska. 
Corporal Walter G. May, R. No. 1, Bennett, Nebraska. 
Corporal Axel T. Peterson, Holstein, Nebraska. 
Corporal Harry L. Shafer, Polk, Nebraska. 
Corporal Ira E. Steever, R. No. 3, Stromsburg, Nebraska. 
Corporal Alvin G. Swanson. R. F. D. No. 1, Clarks, 

Nebraska. 
Corporal Peter A. Thelen, Shelby, Nebraska. 
Corporal Jacob A. Unger, R. No. 2, Cedar Bluffs, Kansas. 
Corporal Onno Valentine, R. No. 1. Pauline, Nebraska, 
Corporal Albert Wood, 185 High St., Boston, Massachussets. 
Corporal Melvin A. Youngland, Stromsburg, Nebraska. 

ASSISTANT COOKS: 

Private 1st Class James M. Archer, 309 E. Illinois Street, 

Kirksville, Missouri. 
Private 1st Class Lloyd B. Marsh, Snell, Arkansas. 

ASSISTANT CHAUFFEURS: 

Private William J. Blazeski. 162 Sand St., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Private James F. Cafferty, Elroy, Wisconsin. 

Private Thomas Cambello, 423 Pacific Street, Brooklyn. 

New York. 
Private Michele Casale, 110 Orchard Street, Mt. Vernon, 

New York. 
Private 1st Class William Casey, Tonners, New York. 

Ill 



Private Robert J. Chapman, 93 Orchard St., Bridgeport, 

Connecticut. 
Private Edwin M. Christiansen, Terrace, Minnesota. 
Private Alexander Ciprietto, 285 E. 155th St., New York City. 
Private Calogero Ciravola, 36 Montrose Ave., Brooklyn, 

New York. 
Private 1st Class Russell M. Clark, Osceola, Nebraska. 
Private Hugo Corregoux, Holstein, Iowa. 
Private 1st Class Otto A. Ebert, McCook, Nebraska. 
Private John B. Ellsworth, Crawford, Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class James E. Gallagher, R. No. 1, Ayr, 

Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Elmer E. Grothen, R. No. 4, Juniata, 

Nebraska. 
Private Clyde A. Harrod, Logan, Iowa. 
Private 1st Class Henry Kimminau, R. No. 3, Lawrence, 

Nebraska. 
Private Vere F. Marr, Tekamah. Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class James C. Moore, 460 West 49th Street 

New York City. 
Private 1st Class Frank D. Myers, 3 Gouverneur Place, 

Bronx, New York. 
Private Emiel Pierson, R. No. 1, Kavkavlin, Michigan. 
Private Oscar L. Ranke, Frankenmuth, Michigan. 
Private Stephen E. Rusin, 1544 Cutter St., Cincinnati, Ohio. 
Private William H. Sandys, So. Main St.. Bryan, Ohio. 
Private Paul L. Thompson, 502 No. West St., Carlisle, 

Pennsylvania. 
Private 1st Class George Tolzman, 24 South Catherine St., 

Baltimore, Maryland. 
Private Virgil L. Turner, Mt. Harmony, Calvert Co., 
Maryland. 
Special Duty— GUARD AT M. T. O.: 

Private Nick Dinardo, 25 Croton Terrace, Yonkers. N. Y. 
Special Duty— AT POST EXCHANGE: 

Private Thomas J. McAleer, 128 Ainslie St., Brooklyn, N. Y. 
Special Duty— AT SUPPLY TRAIN HEADQUARTERS: 

Private Maurice F. Moran, 280 McDougal Street, Brooklyn, 
New York. 
Special Duty— AT PAINT SHOP, M. T. O.: 

Private Sylvester G. Patrick, R. No. 1, Osceola, Nebraska. 
Special Duty— AT SUPPLY TRAIN HEADQUARTERS: 
Private John A. Solberg, R. No. 1, Oxford, Nebraska. 
Special Duty— AT PAINT SHOP, M. T. O.: 

Private Raymond H. Wickland, Whiting, Iowa. 
SECTION LEADER: 

Sergeant Antoni M. Reszczenski, 17 Upson Street Bristol, 
Connecticut. 
On Special Duty— WITH M. T. O.: 

Corporal Carl L. Brett, 66 Oakwood Avenue, Hartford, 
Connecticut. 
CHAUFFEUR: 

Corporal Richard Grabinsky, R. F. D. No. 2, Collinsville, 
Connecticut. 
MECHANIC: 

Corporal Howard O. Jacobson, 215 Fifth Street, Southeast, 
Rochester, Minnesota. 

112 



COMPANY "¥/' 314TH MOTOR SUPPLY TRAIN. 

Captain Herbert V. Puscli,Maryville, Kansas. 
Commanding Company. 

1st Lieutenant Robert C. Ledford, 217 4th St., Fulton, Kentucky, 
Special Duty as Dispatching Officer at 314th Motor Supply 
Train, Headquarters. 

Sergeant 1st Class Bryne, John W., 5575 Maple Ave., St. Louis, 
Missouri, 
Truckmaster, 

Sergeant Hultquist, Victor J., Holdredge. Nebraska, 
Mechanic. 

Sergeant Swan, Axel L., Stromsburg, Nebraska, 
Mess and Supply. 

Sergeant Moline, Carl T., Stromsburg, Nebraska, 
Clerk. 

Sergeant Liebers, Fred A., 2785 Randolph St., Lincoln, Nebr. 

Assistant Truckmaster. 
Sergeant Fisk, Harley A., Bloomfield, Nebraska. 

Assistant Truckmaster. 

Sergeant Erickson, David L., Funk, Nebraska. 
Assistant Truckmaster. 

Corporal Nylander, Hans J., Loomis, Nebraska, 
Assistant Mechanic. 

Corporal Miller, Albert B., Oxford, Nebraska, 
Assistant Mechanic. 

Corporal Blue, Erwin H., Lowell, Nebraska, 

Assistant Mechanic. 
Corporal Johnson, Roy A., Minden, Nebraska, 

Dodge Chauffeur. 

Cook Harlan, Leslie J., Norman, Nebraska, 
Cook. 

Private Johnson Wilhelm, Minden, Nebraska, 
Assistant Cook. 

Cook Saul, George H., Norman, Nebraska, 
Cook. 

Private Pulliam, Onnie K., care O. J. Pulliam, Route No. 1, 
Tucker, Georgia, 
Assistant Cook. 

Corporal Borgaard, Chas. E., Minden, Nebraska, 
Assistant Truckmaster and Chauffeur. 

Corporal Anderson, Carl A., Funk, Nebraska, 
Assistant Truckmaster and Chauffeur. 

Corporal Havard, Howser R., Holdrege, Nebraska, 
Assistant Truckmaster and Chauffeur. 

Corporal Hardesty, Percy W., York, Nebraska, 
Motorcycle driver. 

113 



CHAUFFEURS: 
Corporal Houdersheldt, Ralph, Osceola, Nebraska. 
Corporal Moon, Otis C, Loveland, Colorado. 
Corporal Smith, Walter J., Holdrege, Nebraska. 
Corporal Eckhardt, Fred., Campbell, Nebraska. 
Corporal Frickey, Ford F., Funk, Nebraska. 
Corporal Bragg, Clifford O., Loomis, Nebraska. 
Corporal Pearson, Victor F., Axtell, Nebraska. 
Corporal Gunnerson, Harry E., Ada, Minnesota. 
Corporal Gaston, Thomas, Minden, Nebraska. 
Corporal Nelson, Otto B., Osceola, Nebraska. 
Corporal Collin, William L., North Platte, Nebraska. 
Corporal Akerson, Carl G., Funk Nebraska. . 
Corporal Kounovsky, John, Verdell, Nebraska. 
Corporal Palmblade. Roy E., Axtell, Nebraska. 
Corporal Wommer, Archie, Minden, Nebraska. 
Corporal Davis, Kenneth O., Bird City, Kansas. 
Corporal Gustafson, Carl A. E., Funk, Nebraska. 
Corporal Lindquist, James L., Bertrand, Nebraska. 
Corporal Williams, Edgar H., Chester, Nebraska. 
Cornoral Johansen, Verner, Osceola, Nebraska. 
Corporal Badgett, Arthur, Torrington, Wyoming. 
Corporal McMeekin, James, Shelby, Nebraska. 
Corporal Gondringer, Nichola V., Osceola, Nebraska. 
Corporal Keen, David M., Stacy, Virginia. 

ASSISTANT CHAUFFEURS: 
Private 1st Class Alford, William T., Monowi, Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Crantz, Eavar E., Bertrand, Nebraska. 
Private 1st ^ Class Hemenway, Carl W., Clearwater, Nebraska. 
Private 1st' Class Isaacson, Eavar E., Bertrand, Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Jensen Andrew E., Minden, Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Johnson, Andrew, Minden, Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Liebers, Ernest M., Minden, Nebraska, R — 4 
Private 1st Class Norberg, Aleck A., Funk, Nebraska, R— 1. 
Private 1st Class Randell, Ray A., Stromsburg, Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Porterfield, George G., Heartwell. Nebraska. 
Private 1st Class Woodland, Wesley F., 223 W. Zarrogssa St. 

Pensacola, Florida. 
Private Becander, Arthur R., Holdrege, Nebraska, R — 4. 
Private Blecha, William F., Kimmswick, Missouri, R — 3. 
Private Burian, Joseph, Belleville, Illinois, R — 3. 
Private Cappello, Salvatore, 47 Elm St., Pawtucket, R. I. 
Private Carlino, Dominico, 14 N. 15th St., Philadelphia, Pa. 
Private Carlson, Klause, E., 22 Beets St., Jamestown. N. Y. 
Private Carlson, George E., Lindstrom, Minnesota. R — 2. 
Private Carlsen, William, 12 South St., New York, K Y. 
Private Carr, Elmer, Kanawha, Iowa, R — 5. 
Private Davis, Bennie C, Alto, Texas. 
Private Kelling, Lyman A., Cedar, Kansas. 
Private Lanahan, John K., Brownsburg, Indiana. 
Private Larson, Louis, 383 Beacon Ave., St. Paul Minnesota. 
Private Malin, Samuel, 4251 Sydenham St., Philadelphia, Pa. 
Private Papa, Anthonio, 235 Park Ave., New York, N. Y. 
Private Papish, Aaron, 228 Henry St., New York, N. Y. 
Private Pietro, Dengelo B., 483 College St., New York, N. Y. 
Private Snizek, William 1431 Ave. A, New York, N. Y. 



114 



Private Wolfe, Joseph, 555 Rivard St., Detroit, Michigan. 
Private Wright, Howard K., Easton, Maryland. 
Private Votruba, Anthony T., 3623 Roswell Ave., St. i^ouis, Mo. 
Private Zaranis, Nicholas, 201 E. 30th St., New York, N. Y. 
Corporal Lantz, Vanner, 1943 W. 20th St., Cleveland, Ohio. 
Private 1st Class Thaut, John J., 126 Park St., Butte, Montana. 
Private Dillon, John P., 96 Perry St., New York, N. Y. 
Private VanDyke, Chas. L., Edinbora, Pennsylvania, R — 2. 



CASUALTY LIST: 
KILLED IN ACTION: 

Private Frank Crisci, Company "A" — killed in action by a 
shell fire on October 30, 1918, near Romagne, France. 

Private Joseph Dobmeier, Company "B"— instantly killed by 
shell fire on October 27, 1918, at Gesnes, France. 

Private John Kalejack, Company "C" — killed in action on 
November 3, 1918, by shrapnel. 

Private Walter J. Sharer, Company "E" — killed in action 
November 5, 1918, by air bomb. 

WOUNDED IN ACTION: 

Private Lloyd E. Abbott, Headquarter's Detachment- 
wounded by shell fire at Bantheville, October 31, 1918. 

Private Otto C. Bugenhagen, Company "C" — wounded by 
shell fire near Beaufort, France, November 8, 1918. 

Sergeant Roy L. Cross, Company "E" — wounded by shell fire 
October 26, 1918. 

Private Joseph Daniel, Company "B" — wounded by shrapnel 
November 1, 1918. 

Private Clare L. Gardner, Prov. Company — wounded in ac- 
tion on November 3, 1918. 

Private Fred C. Hahn, Company "C" — wounded by air bomb 
at Tailly, France, on November 5, 1918. 

Sergeant Earl W. Isgrig, Company "C" — gassed at Banthe- 
ville, France, on November 1, 1918. 

Corporal Edward G. Jagels, Company "C" — wounded by shell 
fire at Romagne, France, on October 28, 1918. 

Private 1st Class Burton P. Manson, Company "E" — 
wounded in arm by shrapnel on November 8, 1918. 

Private Joseph J. McCormack, Company "C" — severely 
wounded by machine gun bullet in leg, on November 4, 1918. 

Private Charles A. McKane, Company "D" — severely 
wounded by machine gun bullet in leg, on November 4, 1918. 

Private Vincent Olzewski, Company "A" — severely wounded 
in action by shrapnel on October 28, 1918. 

Private George C. Pinkston, Company "E" — gassed, date 
unknown. 

Private Gennare Pucilla, Company "D" — severely wounded 
in action by shrapnel on October 28, 1918. 

Private Emil J. Schlutsmeier, Company "B" — wounded by 
shell fire at Beauclair, France, November 5, 1918. 

Corporal Fred D. Shockey, Company "A" — wounded by shell 
fire at Bantheville, France, November 1, 1918. 

115 



Corporal David L. Swanson, Company "C" — gassed with 
mustard gas, date unknown, and sent to 354th Ambulance 
Dressing Station. 

Private George B. Todd, Company "E" — wounded by shrap- 
nel on November 4, 1918. 

Private William E. Toston, Company "D" — gassed, date un- 
known, and sent to hospital after armistice. 

MISSING IN ACTION: 

♦Private Emil F. Kriemer, Company "D" — missing since 
November 11, 1918. 

♦Private Joseph T. McNally Company "C" — missing since 
November 7. 1918. 

♦Private Andrew Titus, Provisional Company — missing 
since November 10, 1918. 

♦NOTE:— Above are thought to have been wounded, place and 
date unknown, some time before the armistice, and 
evacuated to hospital. 



116 



APPENDIX ''B.' 
CITATIONS AND MISCELLANEOUS. 



HEADQUARTERS IV. CORPS. 

September 13, 1918. 
CORRECTED COPY 
General Order 
No. 6. 

1. The Fourth Corps has defeated the enemy and driven 
him back on the whole Corps Front. All objectives were 
reached before the time prescribed in orders, a large number 
of prisoners and a considerable amount of booty captured. The 
rapid advance of the Corps, in conjunction with the action of 
the other elements of the First Army, rendered the ST. MIHIEL 
salient untenable to the enemy, who has retreated. 

2. The greatest obstacle to the advance was thought to be 
the enemy wire which presented a problem that caused 
anxiety to all concerned. The Corps Commander desires to 
express in particular his admiration of the skill shown by the 
small groups in the advance battalions and their commanders 
in crossing the hostile wire and in general to express his ap- 
preciation of the high spirit and daring shown by the troops, 
and the rapidity and efficiency with which the operation was 
conducted. 

By command of Major General Dickman: 

STUART HEINTZELMAN, 

Chief of Staff. 
Official: 

PHILIP L. SCHUYLER, 
Adjutant. 



(Corrected Copy) 

(For Official Circulation Only.) 

G. H. Q. 
AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES. 

France. December 26, 1918. 
General Orders 

No. 238. 

It is with a, soldierly pride that I record in General Orders 
a tribute to the taking of the St. Mihiel salient by the First 
Army. 

On September 12, 1918, you delivered the first concerted 
offensive operation of the American Expeditionary Forces 
upon difficult terrain against the redoubtable position, immov- 
ably held for four years, which crumpled before your ably ex- 
ecuted advance. Within twenty four hours of the commence- 
ment of the attack, the salient has ceased to exist and you 
were threatening Metz. 

119 



Your divisions, whicli had never been tried in the exact- 
ing conditions of major offensive operations, worthily emulated 
those of more arduous experience and earned their right to par- 
ticipate in the more difficult task to come. Your staff and 
auxiliary services, which labored so untiringly and so enthusi- 
astically, deserve equal commendation, and we are indebted to 
the willing co-operation of veteran French divisions and of 
auxiliary units which the Allied commands put at our dis- 
posal. 

Not only did you straighten a dangerous salient, capture 
16,000 prisoners and 443 guns and liberate 240 square miles of 
French territory, but you demonstrated the fitness for battle of 
a unified American Army. 

We appreciate the loyal training and effort of the First 
Army. In the name of our country I offer our hearty and 
unmeasured thanks to these splendid Americans of the 1st, 4th, 
and 5th Corps and of the 1st. 2nd, 4th, 5th, 26th, 42nd, 82nd, 
39th, and 90th Divisions, which were engaged, and of the 3rd, 
35th, 78th, 80th and 91st Divisions, which were in reserve. 

This order will be read to all organizations at the first 
assembly formation after its receipt. 

JOHN J. PERSHING, 
Official: General, Commander-in-Chief. 

ROBERT C. DAVIS, 
Adjutant General. 

HEADQUARTERS FIFTH ARMY CORPS 

American Eixpeditionary Forces. 

France, 2nd November, 1918. 
From: Commanding General, V. Army Corps. 
To: Commanding General, 89th Division. 
Subject: Commendation. 

In addition to my telephone message, I desire to convey to 
you and to the Officers and Soldiers of the 89th Division my pro- 
found appreciation and great admiration for the splendid man- 
ner in which the Division accomplished the mission allotted to 
it in the advance of the Fifth Corps on November first. 

With a dash, courage, and speed i hat is v/orthy of the best 
traditions of our service, the 89th Division quickly overran the 
enemy's strong organization, followed its barrage, and planted 
itself on all objectives in accordance with the schedule pre- 
viously arranged. It has captured many prisoners, guns, and 
spoils of war, showing that the enemy was afforded no op- 
portunity to escape. 

The Division has more than justified the high confidence 
of the Commander in Chief when he selected it to form the 
advance in the great operations that have begun. 

It is a high honor to command such troops, and I beg that 
you will convey to your Officers and Soldiers the assurance of 
my abiding wishes foi* their continued success in the campaigns 
that lie before it. 

(Signed) C. P. SUMMERALL, 

Major General Commanding. 

120 



HEADQUARTERS 

FIFTH ARMY CORPS 

American Expeditionary Forces. 

France, November 20, 1918. 
General Orders 

No. 26. 

I. The following Citations are announced: 

The 1st, 2nd, and 89th Divisions V. Corps, American E. F., 
for their part in the memorable attack launched by the 1st 
American Army on November 1st. Throughout this operation 
all officers and men, by their high courage, devotion to duty, 
and disregard for the innumerable hardships encountered, 
made for themselves a place in the history of our country. 

The 1st Division, American E. F., (Brig. Gen. Frank Parker, 
Commanding), extending the left of the Corps during the ad- 
vance, after a long and hard march took up the pursuit of the 
enemy, marching and fighting night and day, with great courage 
and determination. It added to its already brilliant record by 
a historical march of two days and nights, arriving on the 
heights Southeast of the City of Sedan. 

The 2nd Division, American E. F., (Major Gen. John A. 
LeJune, Commanding), in line at the launching of the attack, 
broke through the strong enemy resistance, and leading the ad- 
vance, drove forward in a fast and determined pursuit of the 
enemy, who despite new divisions hastily thrown in, was driven 
back everywhere on its front. This Division drove the enemy 
across the Meuse and under heavy fire and against stubborn re- 
sistance, built bridges and established itself on the heights. 
The cessation of hostilities found the Division holding . strong 
positions across the Meuse and ready for a continuation of the 
advance. 

The 89th Division American E. F., (Maj. Gen. William M. 
Wright, commanding), preceding the attack of November 1st, 
cleaned up the difficult and strongly held BOIS de BANTHE- 
VILLE and attacked on November 1st. It broke through the 
enemy's lines, advanced strong'y day and night, defeating the 
enemy and his reserves in its front, and drove him across the 
Meuse. Under heavy fire and against stubborn resistance, it 
constructed bridges and established itself on the heights. Ttie 
cessation of hostilities found this Division holding- strong posi- 
tions across the Meuse and ready for a continuation of the ad- 
vance. 

C. P. SUMMERALL, 

Major General, Commanding. 
Official: 

HARRY C. KAEFRING, 
Adjutant General. 



121 



HEADQUARTERS 

EIGHTY-NINTH DIVISION 

GERMANY. 

18 December, 1918. 
General Orders, 

No. 108. 

The division has completed its first six months of foreign 
service. A majority of the officers and men are now entitled 
to their first service chevron. To them the Division Commander 
expresses his appreciation of loyal and efficient service which 
has been of a high order of excellence. 

The Division came into the most momentous six months 
of the war. And its record has been an enviable one. In the 
training area, it convinced higher authority of its ability to enter 
the line as a Division — the 1st National Army Division to do so. 
It was the first American Division to move by bus with Amer- 
ican transportation, and the entire movement was organized 
and executed by the Division. 

In the LUCEY Sector, the Division won commendation from 
the French Corps and Army Commanders, for its successful 
minor operations, almost constantly gaining identification from 
the enemy, without losing a single one to the foe. During the 
difficult period of preparation for the ST. MIHIEL Offensive, 
the Division successfully held the line while the attack massed 
behind it and while the enemy made desperate attempts to drive 
raids through for information. 

In the Offensive of September 12th, the Division went over 
abreast of the veteran divisions of the American Army, took 
the BOIS de MORT MARE and all of its other objectives. It 
then organized the new sector and took over the lines held by 
one and one-half other divisions as well. 

After the Division relieved the 32nd American Division 
near ROMAGNE it cleaned up the BOIS de BANTHEVILLE 
and won commendation of the Corps and Army. 

On the drive of November 1st, the Division attacked in the 
front line, took the wooded heights of BARRICOURT, pushed 
on to the final Army objective the MEUSE, and had forced 
a crossing by 11 hours, 11 November, 1918. 

The Division is now in Germany with a reputation of clean 
living, clean fighting, obeying orders and taking its objectives. 
The Division Commander is proud to sign this order to the 89th 
Division. 

FRANK L. WINN, 

Major General. 



122 



HEADQUARTERS 
EIGHTY-NINTH DIVISION 
FRANCE. 
General Orders 12 November, 1918. 

No. 86. 

In leaving the 89th Division to assume command of the 
First Corps, I want to thank the officers and menj for their 
splendid support and loyal service throughout the recent opera- 
tions. 

You have won a reputation which my praise can not in- 
crease. I am proud to have been your commander. 
(Corrected Copy.) W. M. WRIGHT, 

Major General U. S. A., 
(Destroy all previous copies.) Commanding. 

(For Official Circulation Only.) 

G. H. Q. AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES. 

France, December 19, 1918. 
General Orders 
No. 232. 

It is with a sense of gratitude for its splendid accomplish- 
ment which will live through all history, that I record in General 
Orders a tribute to the victory of the First Army in the Meuse- 
Argonne Battle. 

Tested and strengthened by the reduction of the St. Mihiel 
salient, for more than six weeks you battered against the pivot 
of the enemy line on the western front. It was a position of im- 
posing natural strength, stretching on both sides of the Meuse 
River from the bitterly contested hills of Verdun to the almost 
impenetrable forest of the Argonne; a position, moreover, forti- 
fied by four years of labor designed to render it impregnable; a 
position held with the fullest resources of the enemy. That posi- 
tion you broke utterly, and thereby hastened the collapse of 
the enemy's military power. 

Soldiers of all of the divisions engaged under the First, 
Third and Fifth American Corps and the Second Colonial and 
Seventeenth French Corps — the 1st, 2nd. 3rd, 4th, 5th, 26th, 28th, 
29th, 32nd, 33rd, 35th, 37th, 42nd, 77th, 78th, 79th, 80th, 81st, 
82nd, 89th, 90th and 91st Americati Divisions, the 18th and 26th 
French Divisions, and the 10th and 15th French Colonial Divi- 
sions — you will be long remembered for the stubborn persist- 
ence of your progress, your storming of obstinaie.y defended 
machine gun nests, your penetration, yard by yard of woods and 
ravines, your heroic resistance in the face of counter-attacks sup- 
ported by powerful artillery fire. For more than a month, from 
the initial attack of September 26th, you fought your way slowly 
through the Argonne, through the woods and over hills west of 
the Meuse; you slowly enlarged your hold on the Cotes de 
Meuse; to the east, and then, on the 1st o? November, your at- 
tack forced the enemy into flight. Pressing his retreat, you 
cleared the entire left bank of the Meuse south of Sedan and 
then stormed the heights on the right bank and drove him into 
the plain beyond. 

Soldiers of all army and corps' troops engaged — to you no 
less credit is due; your steadfast adherence to duty and your 
dogged determination in the face of all obstacles made possible 
the heroic deeds cited above. 

123 



Tlie achievement of the First Army which is scarcely to be 
equalled in American history, must remain a source of proud 
satisfac-ion to the troops who participated in the last campaign 
of the war. The American people will remember it as the 
realization of the hitherto potential strength of the American con- 
tribution toward the cause to which they had sworn allegiance. 
There can be no greater reward for a soldier or for a soldier's 
memory: This order will be read to all organizations at the first 
assembly formation after receipt. 

JOHN J. PERSHING. 

HEADQUARTERS 

EIGHTY-NINTH DIVISION 

AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES 

GERMANY. 

6 May, 1919— HP 
General Orders, 
No. 44. 

1. The movement home begins today. The Division Com- 
mander cannot let the occasion pass without expressing to offi- 
cers and men his congratulations and gratitude. The Division is 
to be congratulated upon the accomplishment of its final mission 
of duty in occupied Germany, in a manner that has won the com- 
mendation of military superiors, increased the regard of our as- 
sociate divisions and gained the respect of the inhabitants. It 
is with a heart full of gratitude that record is made of the whole- 
souled intelligent and successful response the Division has made 
to every demand. The best traditions of the American Army for 
fair dealing in a foreign land have been maintained. 

2. In training in civil affairs, in the care of animals and 
transportation, in entertainments, in schools and in all routine 
duty, the Division has not only done its part well, but in many 
ways its record has been distinguished; in conduct and c'ean 
living it has been exemplary; in athletics it has won the football 
championship of the A. E. F. and excel'ed in other sports. The 
spirit and discipline of the Division have been remarkable, and 
for this the in.e ligence, sound common sense and superior char- 
acter of the personnel as a whole are in large measure respons- 
ible. 

3. The game has been played to the full, and in Germany to 
the last. This was strikingly exemplified in the splendid appear- 
ance of the men, the exce.lent condition of equipment and trans- 
portation, and he efficient team work of the en^^'re force on the 
occasion of the Review by the Commander-in-Chief at Treves, 
Aviation Field, April 23, 1919. The record during the trying 
times of the Armistce is one comparable in evey respect to that 
fighting record which, for the time the Division was in the line, 
is unexcelled in the A. E. F. It is confidently expected that it 
will be the determination of officers and men alike to see that 
the standards of the Division are preserved so long as a single 
member remains in the service. 

4. This opportunity is taken to express appreciation of the 
services of the Staff Officers of the Division. Zealous, loyal and 
able, they have done their part toward maintaining the fighting 
efficiency that stamps the character of the Division. 

124 



5. The Commander-in-Gliief has sent a letter which all will 
read with pride and satisfaction and which is published as the 
final message most highly valued by the officers and men who 
have made the Division worthy of the praise and assured of the 
friendship of General Pershing. 

AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES 

OFFICE OF THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 

France, April 27, 1919. 
Major General Frank L. Winn, 

Commanding 89th Division, 

American E. F. 

My dear General Winn: 

It was very pleasing to me to note the fine appearance of your 
Division at the inspection and review held on April 23rd at the 
Aviation Field near Treves. The high morale of all ranks was 
very evident, and was what I had expected to find in a division 
with such a splendid fighting record as the 89th. 

After its arrival in France in early June for two months it 
trained near Reynel. It then joined the 1st American Army in 
the Toul sector, where on September 12th it took part in the 
St. Mihiel offensive, capturing the strong position of Bois de 
Mort Mare and by the 13th advancing 18 kilometers. It then 
consolidated its position and after relieving the 42nd and 78th 
Divisions was itself relieved on October 7th. On October 19th 
it entered the Meuse-Argonne offensive as part of the 5th Corps, 
taking the Bois de Banlheville the next day. On November 1st 
it surged forward with the 1st Army, and from that time until 
November 11th it was advancing constantly. Breaking through 
the enemy's line, it pushed on day and night to a depth of 30 
kilometers, defeating the enemy and the reserves on its front and 
driving him across the Meuse. Under heavy fire bridges were 
constructed and by the signing of the Armistice it was established 
on the heights east of the river. In the short space of this 
letter it is impossible to mention the names of the places which 
will live in the history of the Division on account of the gallant 
deeds done. Barricourt Woods, Remonville, Tailly, Nouart, Bar- 
ricourt, Bois des Dames, Beauclair, Pouilly, the brilliant crossing 
of the River Meuse, and Autreville are but a few of them. 

Please extend my congratulations to the officers and men of 
your Division on their appearance at inspection as well as their 
splendid record of seryice in France. They may well return 
home proud of themselves safe in the assurance of the admira- 
tion and respect of their comrades in the American Expeditionary 
Forces. 

Sincerely yours. 

(Signed) JOHN J. PERSHING. 

FRANK L. WINN, 

Major General, U. S. A., 

Commanding. 

125 



THE ORIGIN OF THE DIVISION INSIGNIA. 

The ever-hearing, ever-seeing intelligence service of that 
grey army opposite us really was the cause for the choice of a 
Division insignia. 

The experience of the French and British, and even of our 
own American divisions before us had taught us that we might 
expect that all of our systems of communications, our very tele- 
phone conversations, in fact, would be tapped by German agen- 
cies. 

For this reason, suggestions were asked for as to a code 
name for the Division. As indicative of the location from which 
most of the troops came, the name Middle West was quickly 
agreed upon. 

While we were yet in the Lucey Sector, before the St. 
Mihiel Drive, the desirability of developing some insignia which 
should signify the Division as surely as did the numerals "89," 
became apparent. 

The suggestion that the letter "W" (reversing which pro- 
duces "M" and the abbreviation of Middle West) placed in a 
circle was agreed upon as the Divisional insignia. 

Then came the distinguishing features, the color inserted in 
the shell formed by the lower part of the "W" designating the 
branch of service. 

The shell in the Supply Train insignia was of purple, rep- 
resenting the Motor Transport Corps. Later to distinguish this 
from the colors of the 177th Irffantry Brigade, a thin line of 
white piping was put around the purple shell. 

Every member of the 89th Division proudly wears the insig- 
nia on his left shoulder, and it appears on every piece of trans- 
portation in the division. 

The following appeared in the Stars and Stripes of February 
14, 1919. 

EIGHTY-NINTH DIVISION. 
National Army of Kansas, Missouri and Colorado. 
Divisional headquarters arrived in France June 21, 
1918. Activities: Sector northwest of Toul August 
10-20 (under command of 32nd French Corps) ; sec- 
tor northwest of Toul August 20 to September 12 (un- 
der command of Fourth American Corps); Septem- 
ber 12-13, St. Mihiel offensive; September 14 to Oc- 
tober 7, sector from Xammes to middle of Bois de 
Dampvitoux (later extended to the Etang ue La 
Chaussee on west and western edge of Bois de Bon- 
vaux on east) ; October 9-19, Meuse-Argonne offen- 
sive (Fifth Corps Reserve) ; October 19 to Novem- 
ber 11, Meuse-Argonne offensive. Total advance on 
front line, 36 kilometers. 

Prisoners captured: 192 officers, 4,869 men. Guns 
captured: 127 pieces of artillery, 455 machine guns, 
etc. 

Insignia: Circle of dark blue piping with an initial 
of "W" of the same color which, when inverted, is 
an "M," the letters "MW" standing for Middle 
West, as well as for the three major generals who 
have commanded the division, Leonard Wood, Frank 
L. Winn and William M. Wright. 

126 



STATE FROM WHICH MEN OP THE 314TH MOTOR SUPPLY 
TRAIN COME, AND NUMBER OF MEN FROM EACH STATE.* 

State 

Maine 

Massachusetts 

Rhode Island 

Dist. of Columbia 

West Virginia 

North Carolina 

Tennessee 

Georgia 

Florida 

Indiana 

Illinois 

Wisconsin 

Minnesota 

Kansas 

Oklahoma 

Arizona 

Colorado 

Wyoming 

Montana 

Washington 

Ohio 

Kentucky 

New Mexico 

Missouri 

Nebraska 

New York 

North Dakota 

South Dakota 

California 

Connecticut 

Pennsylvania 

Maryland 

Michigan 

Alabama 

Virginia 

Iowa 

Louisiana 

Arkansas 

Texas 



Officers Men 




2 




8 




1 




1 




2 




1 




2 




5 




1 




1 




3 13 




1 




14 




4 13 




1 2 




3 




1 2 




3 




2 




1 




1 8 




2 7 




2 




1 27 




1 297 




2 53 




1 




1 1 




3 




12 




1 13 




14 




1 5 




5 




12 




1 




2 




5 




1 7 



Total 



21 



551 



*As of April 15. 1919. 



127 



STATION LIST OF SUPPLY TRAIN HEADQUARTERS FROM 
DEPARTURE FROM CAMP FUNSTON, KANSAS. 

Station. • Date of Arrival Date of D'ture 

Camp Funston, Kansas June 4, 1918 

Camp Mills, Long Island, N. Y.. June 7, 1918 June 27, 1918 
Port of Embarkation, Hoboken, 

N. Y June 27, 1918 June 28, 1918 

Port of Debarkation, Liverpool, 

England July 10, 1918 July 10, 1918 

Winchester, England July 11, 1918 July 12, 1918 

South Hampton, England July 12, 1918 July 12, 1918 

Port of Embarkation for France. 

Le Havre, France July 13, 1918 July 15, 1918 

Base Section No. 1, St. Nazaire, 

France July 17, 1918 July 25, 1918 

Rimaucourt, France July 29, 1918 Aug. 7, 1918 

Menil-la-tour, France August 8, 1918 Sept. 27, 1918 

Grosrouvres, France Sept. 27, 1918 Oct. 8, 1918 

Ville-Essey, France October 8 1918 Oct. 9, 1918 

Grosrouvres, France October 9, 1918 Oct. 10, 1918 

Bois de Brocourt, France October 10, 1918 Oct. 11 1918 

Jubecourt, France October 11, 1918 Oct. 15, 1918 

Very, France October 15, 1918 Oct. 17, 1918 

Ivoiry, France October 17, 1918 Nov. 4, 1918 

Remonville, France Nov. 4, 1918 Nov. 24, 1918 

Montmedy, France Nov. 24, 1918 Nov. 26, 1918 

Chatillon, Belgium Nov. 26, 1918 Nov. 30, 1918 

Arlon, Belgium Nov. 30, 1918 Dec. 5, 1918 

Mersch Luxembourg Dec. 5, 1918 Dec. 6, 1918 

Echternach, Luxembourg Dec. 6, 1918 Dec. 7, 1918 

Oberkail, Germany Dec. 7. 1918 Dec. 10, 1918 

Bitburg, Germany Dec. 10, 1918 May 13, 1919 

Enroute Home. 



128 



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